ShuttleBus and Couriers ShuttleBus and Couriers ShuttleBus Route and Schedule The DOE Shuttle Buses follow the same schedules between the two main Headquarters locations, Forrestal and Germantown. The buses start their routes at each Headquarters facility at the same times, see the schedule below. The subsequent stops at the other facilities are relative to the departure time of each route. The shuttlebus departure and arrival times may be impacted by traffic, weather, or other logistical

ShuttleBus Schedule and Route DOE HQ ShuttleBus Schedule and Route The DOE Shuttle Buses follow the same schedules between the two main Headquarters locations, Forrestal and Germantown. The buses start their routes at each Headquarters facility at the same times, see the schedule below. The subsequent stops at the other facilities are relative to the departure time of each route. The shuttlebus departure and arrival times may be impacted by traffic, weather, or other logistical interruptions.

The objectives of this research and demonstration program are to convert a campus shuttlebus to operation on dimethyl ether, a potential ultra-clean alternative diesel fuel. To accomplish this objective, this project includes laboratory evaluation of a fuel conversion strategy, as well as, field demonstration of the DME-fueled shuttlebus. Since DME is a fuel with no lubricity (i.e., it does not possess the lubricating quality of diesel fuel), conventional fuel delivery and fuel injection systems are not compatible with dimethylether. Therefore, to operate a diesel engine on DME one must develop a fuel-tolerant injection system, or find a way to provide the necessary lubricity to the DME. In this project, they have chosen the latter strategy in order to achieve the objective with minimal need to modify the engine. The strategy is to blend DME with diesel fuel, to obtain the necessary lubricity to protect the fuel injection system and to achieve low emissions. The bulk of the efforts over the past year were focused on the conversion of the campus shuttlebus. This process, started in August 2001, took until April 2002 to complete. The process culminated in an event to celebrate the launching of the shuttlebus on DME-diesel operation on April 19, 2002. The design of the system on the shuttlebus was patterned after the system developed in the engine laboratory, but also was subjected to a rigorous failure modes effects analysis with help from Dr. James Hansel of Air Products. The result of this FMEA was the addition of layers of redundancy and over-pressure protection to the system on the shuttlebus. The system became operation in February 2002. Preliminary emissions tests and basic operation of the shuttlebus took place at the Pennsylvania Transportation institute's test track facility near the University Park airport. After modification and optimization of the system on the bus, operation on the campus shuttle route began in early June 2002. However, the work

The objectives of this research and demonstration program are to convert a campus shuttlebus to operation on dimethyl ether, a potential ultra-clean alternative diesel fuel. To accomplish this objective, this project includes laboratory evaluation of a fuel conversion strategy, as well as, field demonstration of the DME-fueled shuttlebus. Since DME is a fuel with no lubricity (i.e., it does not possess the lubricating quality of diesel fuel), conventional fuel delivery and fuel injection systems are not compatible with dimethyl ether. Therefore, to operate a diesel engine on DME one must develop a fuel-tolerant injection system, or find a way to provide the necessary lubricity to the DME. In this project, they have chosen the latter strategy in order to achieve the objective with minimal need to modify the engine. Their strategy is to blend DME with diesel fuel, to obtain the necessary lubricity to protect the fuel injection system and to achieve low emissions. The bulk of the efforts over the past year were focused on the conversion of the campus shuttlebus. This process, started in August 2001, took until April 2002 to complete. The process culminated in an event to celebrate the launching of the shuttlebus on DME-diesel operation on April 19, 2002. The design of the system on the shuttlebus was patterned after the system developed in the engine laboratory, but also was subjected to a rigorous failure modes effects analysis (FMEA, referred to by Air Products as a ''HAZOP'' analysis) with help from Dr. James Hansel of Air Products. The result of this FMEA was the addition of layers of redundancy and over-pressure protection to the system on the shuttlebus. The system became operational in February 2002. Preliminary emissions tests and basic operation of the shuttlebus took place at the Pennsylvania Transportation Institute's test track facility near the University Park airport. After modification and optimization of the system on the bus, operation on the

The objectives of this research and demonstration program are to convert a campus shuttlebus to operation on dimethyl ether, a potential ultra-clean alternative diesel fuel. To accomplish this objective, this project includes laboratory evaluation of a fuel conversion strategy, as well as, field demonstration of the DME-fueled shuttlebus. Since DME is a fuel with no lubricity (i.e., it does not possess the lubricating quality of diesel fuel), conventional fuel delivery and fuel injection systems are not compatible with dimethyl ether. Therefore, to operate a diesel engine on DME one must develop a fuel-tolerant injection system, or find a way to provide the necessary lubricity to the DME. In this project, they have chosen the latter strategy in order to achieve the objective with minimal need to modify the engine. The strategy is to blend DME with diesel fuel, to obtain the necessary lubricity to protect the fuel injection system and to achieve low emissions. The laboratory studies have included work with a Navistar V-8 turbodiesel engine, demonstration of engine operation on DME-diesel blends and instrumentation for evaluating fuel properties. The field studies have involved performance, efficiency and emissions measurements with the Champion Motorcoach ''Defender'' shuttlebus which will be converted to DME-fueling. The results include baseline emissions, performance and combustion measurements on the Navistar engine for operation on a federal low sulfur diesel fuel (300 ppm S). Most recently, they have completed engine combustion studies on DME-diesel blends up to 30 wt% DME addition.

511.1 (02-94) All Other Editions Are Obsolete U.S. Department of Energy ShuttleBus Passenger List Date: Time: Bus Number: Driver's Signature: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Shuttle operates Express between the Germantown Building and the Washington Office (Forrestal Building). ICC regulations prohibits en-route stops. The information being collected below is for the purpose of identifying individuals utilizing DOE Shuttle service. It is not retrievable by a personal identifier and is,

May, 2016 DOE HQ ShuttleBus Route and Schedule The DOE Shuttle Buses follow the same schedules between the two main Headquarters locations, Forrestal and Germantown. The buses start their routes at each Headquarters facility at the same times, see the schedule below. The subsequent stops at the other facilities are relative to the departure time of each route. Headquarters employees are reminded of the statutory provisions that authorize and limit the use of the shuttlebus service. Specific

The objectives of this research and demonstration program are to convert a campus shuttlebus to operation on dimethyl ether, a potential ultra-clean alternative diesel fuel. To accomplish this objective, this project includes laboratory evaluation of a fuel conversion strategy, as well as field demonstration of the DME-fueled shuttlebus. Since DME is a fuel with no lubricity (i.e., it does not possess the lubricating quality of diesel fuel), conventional fuel delivery and fuel injection systems are not compatible with dimethyl ether. Therefore, to operate a diesel engine on DME one must develop a fuel-tolerant injection system, or find a way to provide the necessary lubricity to the DME. In this project, they have chosen the latter strategy in order to achieve the objective with minimal need to modify the engine. The strategy is to blend DME with diesel fuel, to obtain the necessary lubricity to protect the fuel injection system and to achieve low emissions. Within the Combustion Laboratory of the Penn State Energy Institute, they have installed and equipped a Navistar V-8 direct-injection turbodiesel engine for measurement of gaseous and particulate emissions and examination of the impact of fuel composition on diesel combustion. They have also reconfigured a high-pressure viscometer for studies of the viscosity, bulk modulus (compressibility) and miscibility of blends of diesel fuel, dimethyl ether and lubricity additives. The results include baseline emissions, performance and combustion measurements on the Navistar engine for operation on a federal low sulfur diesel fuel (300 ppm S). Most recently, they have examined blends of an oxygenated fuel additive (a liquid fuel called CETANER{trademark}) produced by Air Products, for comparison with dimethyl ether blended at the same weight of oxygen addition, 2 wt.%. While they have not operated the engine on DME yet, they are now preparing to do so. A fuel system for delivery of DME/Diesel blends has been configured

A demonstration compressed natural gas (CNG) bus has been operating on The University of Texas at Austin shuttle system since 1992. This CNG vehicle, provided by the Blue Bird Company, was an opportunity for the University to evaluate the effectiveness of a CNG bus for shuttle operations. Three basic operating comparisons were made: (1) fuel consumption, (2) tire wear, and (3) vehicle performance. The bus was equipped with a data logger, which was downloaded regularly, for trip reports. Tire wear was monitored regularly, and performance tests were conducted at the Natural Gas Vehicle Technology Center. Overall, the data suggest that fuel costs for the CNG bus are comparable to those for University diesel buses. This is a result of the lower fuel price for natural gas. Actual natural gas fuel consumption was higher for the CNG buses than for the diesel buses. Due to weight differences, tire wear was much less on the CNG buses. Finally, after installation of a closed-loop system, the CNG bus out-performed the diesel bus on acceleration, grade climbing ability, and speed.

An insulator for supporting a high voltage conductor within a gas-filled grounded housing consists of radially spaced insulation rings fitted to the exterior of the bus and the interior of the grounded housing respectively, and the spaced rings are connected by trefoil type rings which are integrally formed with the spaced insulation rings.

Under contract to the TARDEC Petroleum and Water Business Area, sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, SwRI has procured and installed a rotary Auxiliary Power Unit on a medium-duty series hybrid electric bus. This report covers the specification and distillation of the APU and the lessons learned from those efforts.

Developing a Natural Gas- Powered Bus Rapid Transit Service: A Case Study George Mitchell National Renewable Energy Laboratory Technical Report NREL/TP-5400-64756 November 2015 NREL is a national laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy Operated by the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC This report is available at no cost from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) at www.nrel.gov/publications. Contract No. DE-AC36-08GO28308

This survey was commissioned by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to collect and analyze experiential data and information from a cross-section of U.S. transit agencies with varying degrees of compressed natural gas (CNG) bus and station experience. This information will be used to assist DOE and NREL in determining areas of success and areas where further technical or other assistance might be required, and to assist them in focusing on areas judged by the CNG transit community as priority items.

The Roaring Fork Transit Authority (RFTA) and its VelociRFTA Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) program are unique in many ways. For example, VelociRFTA was the first rural BRT system in the United States and the operational environment of the VelociRFTA BRT is one of the most severe in the country, with extreme winter temperatures and altitudes close to 8,000 feet. RFTA viewed high altitude operation as the most challenging characteristic when it began considering the use of natural gas. RFTA is the second-largest public transit system in Colorado behind Denver's Regional Transportation District (RTD), and it is one of the largest rural public transit systems in the country. In 2013, RFTA accepted delivery of 22 new compressed natural gas (CNG) buses that went into service after completion of maintenance and refueling facilities earlier that year. This paper examines the lessons learned from RFTA's experience of investigating--and ultimately choosing--CNG for their new BRT program and focuses on the unique environment of RFTA's BRT application; the decision process to include CNG fueling in the project; unforeseen difficulties encountered in the operation of CNG buses; public perception; cost comparison to competing fuels; and considerations for indoor fueling facilities and project funding.

The Roaring Fork Transit Authority (RFTA) and its VelociRFTA Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) program are unique in many ways. For example, VelociRFTA was the first rural BRT system in the United States and the operational environment of the VelociRFTA BRT is one of the most severe in the country, with extreme winter temperatures and altitudes close to 8,000 feet. RFTA viewed high altitude operation as the most challenging characteristic when it began considering the use of natural gas. RFTA is the second-largest public transit system in Colorado behind Denver's Regional Transportation District (RTD), and it is one of the largest rural public transit systems in the country. In 2013, RFTA accepted delivery of 22 new compressed natural gas (CNG) buses that went into service after completion of maintenance and refueling facilities earlier that year. This paper examines the lessons learned from RFTA's experience of investigating--and ultimately choosing--CNG for their new BRT program and focuses on the unique environment of RFTA's BRT application; the decision process to include CNG fueling in the project; unforeseen difficulties encountered in the operation of CNG buses; public perception; cost comparison to competing fuels; and considerations for indoor fueling facilities and project funding.

and infrastructure research, development, and deployment through its FreedomCAR and Vehicle Technologies Program to help the United States reduce its dependence on imported petro- leum and to pave the way to a future transportation network based on hydrogen. Natural gas vehicles can also reduce emissions of regulated pollutants compared with vehicles powered by conventional fuels such as gasoline and diesel. The goal of the Natural Gas Transit Users Group (TUG) is to facilitate the deployment of

The recovery of offshore gas as LNG, by heat exchange on an LNG carrier with liquid nitrogen, was studied in the context of a North Sea gas source and a Swedish market. The technical suitability of each component of this cold-box shuttle system was examined and the capital and operating costs were estimated. It was concluded that the system is technically robust and flexible and that, for the case studied, gas could be landed at a competitive cost.

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has initiated the development of `Design Guidelines for Bus Transit Systems Using Alternative Fuels.` This report provides design guidelines for the safe uses of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG). It forms a part of the series of individual monographs being published by the FTA on (the guidelines for the safe use of) Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) and alcohol fuels (Methanol and Ethanol). Each report in this series describes for the subject fuel the important fuel properties, guidelines for the design and operation of bus fueling, storage and maintenance facilities, issues on personnel training and emergency preparedness.

This report covers all of the activities of a program undertaken to develop a natural gas fueled engine using the Cummins L10 diesel engine as the base engine. The base diesel engine is a 10 liter turbocharged jacket water aftercooled carcass that develops 270 hp at 2100 rpm. The design goals included developing a natural gas version at 240 hp with 750 lb-ft of peak torque with exhaust emission level demonstration meeting the 1991 EPA Urban Bus Emission Mandate. Additional goals included demonstrating diesel like vehicle performance and diesel like reliability and durability. Two fuel delivery systems were evaluated, one mechanical and the other electronic closed loop. Field and laboratory test engines were utilized to document reliability. Results of this program led to the production release of the gas engine for transit bus applications and California Air Resources Board certification during 1992.

Directory Argonne National Laboratory About Safety News Careers Education Community Diversity Directory Energy Environment Security User Facilities Science Work with Argonne Visiting Argonne Site Access Policy Map Argonne-University of Chicago Shuttle Map of Argonne Argonne-University of Chicago Shuttle The schedule below is effective March 17, 2014. A free shuttlebus makes round trips every weekday between Argonne National Laboratory and The University of Chicago. The shuttle does not run on

Brochure describes the hydrogen-powered internal combustion engine (H2ICE) shuttlebus at NREL. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is funding the lease of the bus from Ford to demonstrate market-ready advanced technology vehicles to visitors at NREL.

Take a ride on a new type of bus, fueled by hydrogen. These hydrogen taxis are part of a Department of Energy-funded deployment of hydrogen powered vehicles and fueling infrastructure at nine federal facilities across the country to demonstrate this market-ready advanced technology. Produced and leased by Ford Motor Company , they consist of one 12- passenger bus and one nine-passenger bus. More information at: http://go.usa.gov/Tgr

An all-digital SCADA network has been installed in one of the North Sea's largest natural gas fields, controlling the delivery of gas from Shell UK Exploration and Production's souther-area fields to a British Gas Terminal at Bacton, UK. The innovative use of digital technology -- based on the industry-standard HART field protocol -- to complete a digital communications link stretching from the onshore SCADA host right out to the process variable transmitters on the platforms, is playing a key role in the automation of the monitoring and control system by allowing Shell UK Expro to run the majority of the platforms unmanned. The SCADA system is part of a major refit being carried out by Shell Expro on its Leman field. The refit is part of the company's long-term strategy to extend the lifetime of this established field, which started operations in the late 1960s. In order to meet this goal, the prime requirements are to reduce operational costs and risk exposure, and the key element in this area was to reduce the need for resident staff and all of their associated support and equipment costs, through the deployment of automation. The system will achieve the project's cost-cutting aims, but also break new ground in control and monitoring technology for the gas industry, through the use of a smart transmitter scheme as a digital field communications within the wide-area network, using the protocol's all-digital capability in preference to the commonly used 4-20mA-compatible mode, will allow real-time monitoring and control, plus maintenance and diagnostics, to take place remotely. This paper describes the design of this system.

GridLAB-D is an agent? based distribution system simulation environment that allows fine-grained end-user models, including geospatial and network topology detail. GridLAB-D addresses the lack of runtime interaction by designing a flexible communication interface, Bus.py (pronounced bus-dot-pie), that uses Python to pass messages between one or more GridLAB-D instances and a Smart Grid simulator.

The H2Fuel Bus is the world`s first hybrid hydrogen electric transit bus. It was developed through a public/private partnership involving several leading technology and industrial organizations in the Southeast, with primary funding and program management provided by the Department of Energy. The primary goals of the project are to gain valuable information on the technical readiness and economic viability of hydrogen buses and to enhance the public awareness and acceptance of emerging hydrogen technologies. The bus has been operated by the transit agency in Augusta, Georgia since April, 1997. It employs a hybrid IC engine/battery/electric drive system, with onboard hydrogen fuel storage based on the use of metal hydrides. Initial operating results have demonstrated an overall energy efficiency (miles per Btu) of twice that of a similar diesel-fueled bus and an operating range twice that of an all-battery powered electric bus. Tailpipe emissions are negligible, with NOx less than 0.2 ppm. Permitting, liability and insurance issues were addressed on the basis of extensive risk assessment and safety analyses, with the inherent safety characteristic of metal hydride storage playing a major role in minimizing these concerns. Future plans for the bus include continued transit operation and use as a national testbed, with potential modifications to demonstrate other hydrogen technologies, including fuel cells.

This report describes operations at SunLine Transit Agency for their newest prototype fuel cell bus and five compressed natural gas (CNG) buses. In May 2010, SunLine began operating its sixth-generation hydrogen fueled bus, an Advanced Technology (AT) fuel cell bus that incorporates the latest design improvements to reduce weight and increase reliability and performance. The agency is collaborating with the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to evaluate the bus in revenue service. This report provides the early data results and implementation experience of the AT fuel cell bus since it was placed in service.

This report describes operations at SunLine Transit Agency for their newest prototype fuel cell bus and five compressed natural gas (CNG) buses. In May 2010, SunLine began operating its sixth-generation hydrogen fueled bus, an Advanced Technology (AT) fuel cell bus that incorporates the latest design improvements to reduce weight and increase reliability and performance. The agency is collaborating with the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to evaluate the bus in revenue service. NREL has previously published two reports documenting the operation of the fuel cell bus in service. This report provides a summary of the results with a focus on the bus operation from July 2011 through January 2012.

SunLine Transit Agency, which provides public transit services to the Coachella Valley area of California, has demonstrated hydrogen and fuel cell bus technologies for more than 10 years. In May 2010, SunLine began demonstrating the advanced technology (AT) fuel cell bus with a hybrid electric propulsion system, fuel cell power system, and lithium-based hybrid batteries. This report describes operations at SunLine for the AT fuel cell bus and five compressed natural gas buses. The U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is working with SunLine to evaluate the bus in real-world service to document the results and help determine the progress toward technology readiness. NREL has previously published three reports documenting the operation of the fuel cell bus in service. This report provides a summary of the results with a focus on the bus operation from February 2012 through November 2012.

Bus Rollover Testing And Simulation Computational Structural Mechanics Collaborator Research Highlights - Florida State University & Florida Department of Transportation Current research conducted at FAMU-FSU College of Engineering pertains to comprehensive crashworthiness and safety assessment of a paratransit bus on a Chevrolet 138" wheelbase. The design process of passenger compartment structure in paratransit buses is not regulated by any of crashworthiness standards. FAMU-FSU

The Roaring Fork Transportation Authority (RFTA) represents a series of unique successes in alternative fuel deployment by pushing the envelope with innovative solutions. In the last year, RFTA demonstrated the ability to utilize compressed natural gas buses at a range of altitudes, across long distances, in extreme weather conditions and in a modern indoor fueling and maintenance facility - allwhile saving money and providing high-quality customer service. This case study will highlight how the leadership of organizations and communities that are implementing advances in natural gas vehicle technology is paving the way for broader participation.

The Texas Hydrogen Highway project has showcased a hydrogen fuel cell transit bus and hydrogen fueling infrastructure that was designed and built through previous support from various public and private sector entities. The aim of this project has been to increase awareness among transit agencies and other public entities on these transportation technologies, and to place such technologies into commercial applications, such as a public transit agency. The initial project concept developed in 2004 was to show that a skid-mounted, fully-integrated, factory-built and tested hydrogen fueling station could be used to simplify the design, and lower the cost of fueling infrastructure for fuel cell vehicles. The approach was to design, engineer, build, and test the integrated fueling station at the factory then install it at a site that offered educational and technical resources and provide an opportunity to showcase both the fueling station and advanced hydrogen vehicles. The two primary technology components include: Hydrogen Fueling Station: The hydrogen fueling infrastructure was designed and built by Gas Technology Institute primarily through a funding grant from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. It includes hydrogen production, clean-up, compression, storage, and dispensing. The station consists of a steam methane reformer, gas clean-up system, gas compressor and 48 kilograms of hydrogen storage capacity for dispensing at 5000 psig. The station is skid-mounted for easy installation and can be relocated if needed. It includes a dispenser that is designed to provide temperaturecompensated fills using a control algorithm. The total station daily capacity is approximately 50 kilograms. Fuel Cell Bus: The transit passenger bus built by Ebus, a company located in Downey, CA, was commissioned and acquired by GTI prior to this project. It is a fuel cell plug-in hybrid electric vehicle which is ADA compliant, has air conditioning sufficient for Texas operations

This report describes operations at SunLine Transit Agency for their newest prototype fuel cell bus and five compressed natural gas (CNG) buses. In May 2010, SunLine began operating its sixth-generation hydrogen fueled bus, an Advanced Technology (AT) fuel cell bus that incorporates the latest design improvements to reduce weight and increase reliability and performance. The agency is collaborating with the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to evaluate the bus in revenue service. This is the second results report for the AT fuel cell bus since it was placed in service, and it focuses on the newest data analysis and lessons learned since the previous report. The appendices, referenced in the main report, provide the full background for the evaluation. They will be updated as new information is collected but will contain the original background material from the first report.

A software bus, just like its hardware equivalent, allows for the discovery, installation, configuration, loading, unloading, and run-time replacement of software components, as well as channeling of inter-component communication. Python, a popular open-source programming language, encourages a modular design on software written in it, but it offers little or no component functionality. However, the language and its interpreter provide sufficient hooks to implement a thin, integral layer of component support. This functionality can be presented to the developer in the form of a module, making it very easy to use. This paper describes a Pythonmodule, PyBus, with which the concept of a ''software bus'' can be realized in Python. It demonstrates, within the context of the ATLAS software framework Athena, how PyBus can be used for the installation and (run-time) configuration of software, not necessarily Python modules, from a Python application in a way that is transparent to the end-user.

Technologies Program (FCTP) (Fact Sheet) | Department of Energy Takes a Starring Role in the BurbankBus Fleet, Fuel Cell Technologies Program (FCTP) (Fact Sheet) Fuel Cell Bus Takes a Starring Role in the BurbankBus Fleet, Fuel Cell Technologies Program (FCTP) (Fact Sheet) This fact sheet reports on the City of Burbank, California's fuel cell bus demonstration project and the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) involvement. Included are specifications for the fuel cell bus and information

An electrical system architecture is disclosed. The architecture has a power source configured to generate a first power, and a first bus configured to receive the first power from the power source. The architecture also has a converter configured to receive the first power from the first bus and convert the first power to a second power, wherein a voltage of the second power is greater than a voltage of the first power, and a second bus configured to receive the second power from the converter. The architecture further has a power storage device configured to receive the second power from the second bus and deliver the second power to the second bus, a propulsion motor configured to receive the second power from the second bus, and an accessory motor configured to receive the second power from the second bus.

On behalf of the U.S. Department of Energy, PNNL has explored and expanded upon a simple control interface that might have merit for the inexpensive communication of smart grid operational objectives (demand response, for example) to small electric end-use devices and appliances. The approach relies on bi-directional communication via the electrical voltage states of from one to eight shared interconnection pins. The name PinBus has been suggested and adopted for the proposed interface protocol. The protocol is defined through the presentation of state diagrams and the pins functional definitions. Both simulations and laboratory demonstrations are being conducted to demonstrate the elegance and power of the suggested approach. PinBus supports a very high degree of interoperability across its interfaces, allowing innumerable pairings of devices and communication protocols and supporting the practice of practically any smart grid use case.

A bus switching apparatus and method for multiple processor computer systems comprises a plurality of bus switches interconnected by branch buses. Each processor or other module of the system is connected to a spigot of a bus switch. Each bus switch also serves as part of a backplane of a modular crate hardware package. A processor initiates communication with another processor by identifying that other processor. The bus switch to which the initiating processor is connected identifies and secures, if possible, a path to that other processor, either directly or via one or more other bus switches which operate similarly. If a particular desired path through a given bus switch is not available to be used, an alternate path is considered, identified and secured. 11 figures.

A bus switching apparatus and method for multiple processor computer systems comprises a plurality of bus switches interconnected by branch buses. Each processor or other module of the system is connected to a spigot of a bus switch. Each bus switch also serves as part of a backplane of a modular crate hardware package. A processor initiates communication with another processor by identifying that other processor. The bus switch to which the initiating processor is connected identifies and secures, if possible, a path to that other processor, either directly or via one or more other bus switches which operate similarly. If a particular desired path through a given bus switch is not available to be used, an alternate path is considered, identified and secured.

This report describes operations at SunLine Transit Agency for a prototype fuel cell bus and five compressed natural gas (CNG) buses. This is the fifth evaluation report for this site, and it describes results and experiences from October 2008 through June 2009. These results are an addition to those provided in the previous four evaluation reports.

This report describes operations at SunLine Transit Agency for a prototype fuel cell bus and five new compressed natural gas (CNG) buses. This is the fourth evaluation report for this site, and it describes results and experiences from April 2008 through October 2008. These results are an addition to those provided in the previous three evaluation reports.

This report describes operations at SunLine Transit Agency for a prototype fuel cell bus and five compressed natural gas (CNG) buses. This is the fifth evaluation report for this site, and it describes results and experiences from October 2008 through June 2009. These results are an addition to those provided in the previous four evaluation reports.

Department of Energy Fifth Evaluation Report SunLine Transit Agency Fuel Cell Transit Bus: Fifth Evaluation Report This report describes operations at SunLine Transit Agency for a prototype fuel cell bus and five compressed natural gas (CNG) buses. This is the fifth evaluation report for this site, and it describes results and experiences from October 2008 through June 2009. These results are an addition to those provided in the previous four evaluation reports. 46346-1.pdf (854.72 KB) More

A device for storing data using nanoparticle shuttle memory having a nanotube. The nanotube has a first end and a second end. A first electrode is electrically connected to the first end of the nanotube. A second electrode is electrically connected to the second end of the nanotube. The nanotube has an enclosed nanoparticle shuttle. A switched voltage source is electrically connected to the first electrode and the second electrode, whereby a voltage may be controllably applied across the nanotube. A resistance meter is also connected to the first electrode and the second electrode, whereby the electrical resistance across the nanotube can be determined.

NREL has developed the Energy DataBus, an open-sourced software that collects massive amounts of energy-related data at second-to-second intervals; stores it in a massive, scalable database; and turns it into useful information.

Foothill Transit Battery Electric Bus Demonstration Results Leslie Eudy, Robert Prohaska, Kenneth Kelly, and Matthew Post National Renewable Energy Laboratory Technical Report NREL/TP-5400-65274 January 2016 NREL is a national laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy Operated by the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC This report is available at no cost from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) at www.nrel.gov/publications.

The purpose of the report is to compare the expected costs of operating a transit bus fleet on liquefied natural gas (LNG), compressed natural gas (CNG), and diesel fuel. The special report is being published prior to the overall project final report in response to the current high level of interest in LNG transit buses. It focuses exclusively on the economics of LNG buses as compared with CNG and diesel buses. The reader is referred to the anticipated final report, or to a previously published 'White Paper' report (Reference 1), for information regarding LNG vehicle and refueling system technology and/or the economics of other LNG vehicles. The LNG/CNG/diesel transit bus economics comparison is based on total life-cycle costs considering all applicable capital and operating costs. The costs considered are those normally borne by the transit property, i.e., the entity facing the bus purchase decision. These costs account for the portion normally paid by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Federal Transit Administration (FTA). Transit property net costs also recognize the sale of emissions reduction credits generated by using natural gas (NG) engines which are certified to levels below standards (particularly for NOX).

This report provides preliminary results from a National Renewable Energy Laboratory evaluation of a protoptye fuel cell transit bus operating at Connecticut Transit in Hartford. Included are descriptions of the planned fuel cell bus demonstration and equipment; early results and agency experience are also provided.

A bus bar electrical feedthrough for an electrorefiner system may include a retaining plate, electrical isolator, and/or contact block. The retaining plate may include a central opening. The electrical isolator may include a top portion, a base portion, and a slot extending through the top and base portions. The top portion of the electrical isolator may be configured to extend through the central opening of the retaining plate. The contact block may include an upper section, a lower section, and a ridge separating the upper and lower sections. The upper section of the contact block may be configured to extend through the slot of the electrical isolator and the central opening of the retaining plate. Accordingly, relatively high electrical currents may be transferred into a glovebox or hot-cell facility at a relatively low cost and higher amperage capacity without sacrificing atmosphere integrity.

The H2Fuel Bus is the world's first hydrogen-fueled electric hybrid transit bus. It was a project developed through a public/private partnership involving several leading technological and industrial organizations, with primary funding by the Department of Energy (DOE). The primary goals of the project are to gain valuable information on the technical readiness and economic viability of hydrogen fueled buses and to enhance the public awareness and acceptance of emerging hydrogen technologies.

This report presents results of the American Fuel Cell Bus (AFCB) Project, a demonstration of fuel cell electric buses operating in the Coachella Valley area of California. The prototype AFCB was developed as part of the Federal Transit Administration's (FTA's) National Fuel Cell Bus Program. Through the non-profit consortia CALSTART, a team led by SunLine Transit Agency and BAE Systems developed a new fuel cell electric bus for demonstration. SunLine added two more AFCBs to its fleet in 2014 and another in 2015. FTA and the AFCB project team are collaborating with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory to evaluate the buses in revenue service. This report summarizes the performance results for the buses through June 2015.

Department of Energy In the Face of Hurricane Sandy, CNG Vehicles Shuttle People to Safety In the Face of Hurricane Sandy, CNG Vehicles Shuttle People to Safety November 6, 2012 - 5:00pm Addthis Natural gas jitneys like this are Atlantic City's main form of public transportation. These vehicles were used to evacuate vulnerable residents during Hurricane Sandy. This vehicle is fueling up at a natural gas station built, owned, and operated by Clean Energy Fuels, who kept the station running

This brochure describes SunLine Transit Agency's newest advanced technology fuel cell electric bus. SunLine is collaborating with the U.S. Department of Energy's Fuel Cell Technologies Program to evaluate the bus in revenue service. This bus represents the sixth generation of hydrogen-fueled buses that the agency has operated since 2000.

The terminations of the Central Solenoid (CS) modules are connected to the bus extensions by joints located outside the CS in the gap between the CS and Torodial Field (TF) assemblies. These joints have very strict space limitations. Low resistance is a common requirement for all ITER joints. In addition, the CS bus joints will experience and must be designed to withstand significant variation in the magnetic field of several tenths of a Tesla per second during initiation of plasma. The joint resistance is specified to be less than 4 nOhm. The joints also have to be soldered in the field and designed with the possibility to be installed and dismantled in order to allow cold testing in the cold test facility. We have developed coaxial joints that meet these requirements and have demonstrated the feasibility to fabricate and assemble them in the vertical configuration. We introduced a coupling cylinder with superconducting strands soldered to the surface of the cable that can be installed in the ITER assembly hall and at the Cold Test Facility. This cylinder serves as a transition area between the CS module and the bus extension. We made two racetrack samples and tested four bus joints in our Joint Test Apparatus. Resistance of the bus joints was measured by a decay method and by a microvoltmeter; the value of the current was measured by the Hall probes. This measurement method was verified in the previous tests. The resistance of the joints varied insignificantly from 1.5 to 2 nOhm. One of the challenges associated with a soldered joint is the inability to use corrosive chemicals that are difficult to clean. This paper describes our development work on cable preparation, chrome removal, compaction, soldering, and final assembly and presents the test results.

The goals of this program were to discover and implement a redox shuttle that is compatible with large format lithium ion cells utilizing LiNi{sub 1/3}Mn{sub 1/3}Co{sub 1/3}O{sub 2} (NMC) cathode material and to understand the mechanism of redox shuttle action. Many redox shuttles, both commercially available and experimental, were tested and much fundamental information regarding the mechanism of redox shuttle action was discovered. In particular, studies surrounding the mechanism of the reduction of the oxidized redox shuttle at the carbon anode surface were particularly revealing. The initial redox shuttle candidate, namely 2-(pentafluorophenyl)-tetrafluoro-1,3,2-benzodioxaborole (BDB) supplied by Argonne National Laboratory (ANL, Lemont, Illinois), did not effectively protect cells containing NMC cathodes from overcharge. The ANL-RS2 redox shuttle molecule, namely 1,4-bis(2-methoxyethoxy)-2,5-di-tert-butyl-benzene, which is a derivative of the commercially successful redox shuttle 2,5-di-tert-butyl-1,4-dimethoxybenzene (DDB, 3M, St. Paul, Minnesota), is an effective redox shuttle for cells employing LiFePO{sub 4} (LFP) cathode material. The main advantage of ANL-RS2 over DDB is its larger solubility in electrolyte; however, ANL-RS2 is not as stable as DDB. This shuttle also may be effectively used to rebalance cells in strings that utilize LFP cathodes. The shuttle is compatible with both LTO and graphite anode materials although the cell with graphite degrades faster than the cell with LTO, possibly because of a reaction with the SEI layer. The degradation products of redox shuttle ANL-RS2 were positively identified. Commercially available redox shuttles Li{sub 2}B{sub 12}F{sub 12} (Air Products, Allentown, Pennsylvania and Showa Denko, Japan) and DDB were evaluated and were found to be stable and effective redox shuttles at low C-rates. The Li{sub 2}B{sub 12}F{sub 12} is suitable for lithium ion cells utilizing a high voltage cathode (potential that is higher

Individual, tubular solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) are assembled into bundles called a module within a housing, with a plurality of modules arranged end-to-end in a linear, stacked configuration called a string. A common set of piping comprised of a suitable high temperature resistant material (1) provides fuel and air to each module housing, (2) serves as electrically conducting buses, and (3) provides structural support for a string of SOFC modules. Ceramic collars are used to connect fuel and air inlet piping to each of the electrodes in an SOFC module and provide (1) electrical insulation for the current carrying bus bars and gas manifolds, (2) damping for the fuel and air inlet piping, and (3) proper spacing between the fuel and air inlet piping to prevent contact between these tubes and possible damage to the SOFC. 11 figs.

A system and method of discharging a bus capacitor of a bidirectional matrix converter of a vehicle are presented here. The method begins by electrically shorting the AC interface of the converter after an AC energy source is disconnected from the AC interface. The method continues by arranging a plurality of switching elements of a second energy conversion module into a discharge configuration to establish an electrical current path from a first terminal of an isolation module, through an inductive element, and to a second terminal of the isolation module. The method also modulates a plurality of switching elements of a first energy conversion module, while maintaining the discharge configuration of the second energy conversion module, to at least partially discharge a DC bus capacitor.

This report evaluates a fuel cell electric bus demonstration led by British Columbia Transit (BC Transit) in Whistler, Canada. BC Transit is collaborating with the California Air Resources Board and the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory to evaluate the buses in revenue service. This evaluation report covers two years of revenue service data on the buses from April 2011 through March 2013.

As part of the U.S. Department of Energyâs (DOEâs) effort to deploy transportation technologies that reduce U.S. dependence on imported petroleum, this study examines five school districts, one in Virginia and four in Texas, successful use of propane school buses. These school districts used school buses equipped with the newly developed liquid propane injection system that improves vehicle performance. Some of the school districts in this study saved nearly 50% on a cost per mile basis for fuel and maintenance relative to diesel. Using Argonne National Laboratoryâs Alternative Fuel Life-Cycle Environmental and Economic Transportation (AFLEET) Tool developed for the DOEâs Clean Cities program to help Clean Cities stakeholders estimate petroleum use, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, air pollutant emissions and cost of ownership of light-duty and heavy-duty vehicles, the results showed payback period ranges from 3â8 years, recouping the incremental cost of the vehicles and infrastructure. Overall, fuel economy for these propane vehicles is close to that of displaced diesel vehicles, on an energy-equivalent basis. In addition, the 110 propane buses examined demonstrated petroleum displacement, 212,000 diesel gallon equivalents per year, and GHG benefits of 770 tons per year.

Hydrogen fueled vehicle demonstration projects must satisfy management and regulator safety expectations. This is often accomplished using hazard and safety analyses. Such an analysis has been completed to evaluate the safety of the H2Fuel bus to be operated in Augusta, Georgia. The evaluation methods and criteria used reflect the Department of Energy`s graded approach for qualifying and documenting nuclear and chemical facility safety. The work focused on the storage and distribution of hydrogen as the bus motor fuel with emphases on the technical and operational aspects of using metal hydride beds to store hydrogen. The safety evaluation demonstrated that the operation of the H2Fuel bus represents a moderate risk. This is the same risk level determined for operation of conventionally powered transit buses in the United States. By the same criteria, private passenger automobile travel in the United States is considered a high risk. The evaluation also identified several design and operational modifications that resulted in improved safety, operability, and reliability. The hazard assessment methodology used in this project has widespread applicability to other innovative operations and systems, and the techniques can serve as a template for other similar projects.

American Fuel Cell Bus Project Evaluation: Second Report Leslie Eudy and Matthew Post National Renewable Energy Laboratory Technical Report NREL/TP-5400-64344 September 2015 NREL is a national laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy Operated by the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC This report is available at no cost from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) at www.nrel.gov/publications. Contract No. DE-AC36-08GO28308 National

BC Transit Fuel Cell Bus Project Evaluation Results: Second Report L. Eudy and M. Post National Renewable Energy Laboratory Technical Report NREL/TP-5400-62317 September 2014 NREL is a national laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy Operated by the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC This report is available at no cost from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) at www.nrel.gov/publications. Contract No. DE-AC36-08GO28308 National

Second report evaluating a fuel cell electric bus (FCEB) demonstration led by British Columbia Transit (BC Transit) in Whistler, Canada. BC Transit is collaborating with the California Air Resources Board and the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory to evaluate the buses in revenue service. NREL published its first report on the demonstration in February 2014. This report is an update to the previous report; it covers 3 full years of revenue service data on the buses from April 2011 through March 2014 and focuses on the final experiences and lessons learned.

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) collected and analyzed real-world school bus drive cycle data and selected similar standard drive cycles for testing on a chassis dynamometer. NREL tested a first-generation plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) school bus equipped with a 6.4L engine and an Enova PHEV drive system comprising a 25-kW/80 kW (continuous/peak) motor and a 370-volt lithium ion battery pack. A Bluebird 7.2L conventional school bus was also tested. Both vehicles were tested over three different drive cycles to capture a range of driving activity. PHEV fuel savings in charge-depleting (CD) mode ranged from slightly more than 30% to a little over 50%. However, the larger fuel savings lasted over a shorter driving distance, as the fully charged PHEV school bus would initially operate in CD mode for some distance, then in a transitional mode, and finally in a charge-sustaining (CS) mode for continued driving. The test results indicate that a PHEV school bus can achieve significant fuel savings during CD operation relative to a conventional bus. In CS mode, the tested bus showed small fuel savings and somewhat higher nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions than the baseline comparison bus.

The fuel economy and emissions of conventional and hybrid buses equipped with emissions aftertreatment were evaluated via computational simulation for six representative city bus drive cycles. Both series and parallel configurations for the hybrid case were studied. The simulation results indicated that series hybrid buses have the greatest overall advantage in fuel economy. The series and parallel hybrid buses were predicted to produce similar carbon monoxide and hydrocarbon tailpipe emissions but were also predicted to have reduced tailpipe emissions of nitrogen oxides compared with the conventional bus in higher speed cycles. For the New York bus cycle, which has themoreÂ Â» lowest average speed among the cycles evaluated, the series bus tailpipe emissions were somewhat higher than they were for the conventional bus; the parallel hybrid bus had significantly lower tailpipe emissions. All three bus power trains were found to require periodic active diesel particulate filter regeneration to maintain control of particulate matter. Plug-in operation of series hybrid buses appears to offer significant fuel economy benefits and is easily employed because of the relatively large battery capacity that is typical of the series hybrid configuration.Â«Â less

The fuel economy and emissions of conventional and hybrid buses equipped with emissions after treatment were evaluated via computational simulation for six representative city bus drive cycles. Both series and parallel configurations for the hybrid case were studied. The simulation results indicated that series hybrid buses have the greatest overall advantage in fuel economy. The series and parallel hybrid buses were predicted to produce similar carbon monoxide and hydrocarbon tailpipe emissions but were also predicted to have reduced tailpipe emissions of nitrogen oxides compared with the conventional bus in higher speed cycles. For the New York bus cycle, which hasmoreÂ Â» the lowest average speed among the cycles evaluated, the series bus tailpipe emissions were somewhat higher than they were for the conventional bus; the parallel hybrid bus had significantly lower tailpipe emissions. All three bus power trains were found to require periodic active diesel particulate filter regeneration to maintain control of particulate matter. Finally, plug-in operation of series hybrid buses appears to offer significant fuel economy benefits and is easily employed because of the relatively large battery capacity that is typical of the series hybrid configuration.Â«Â less

The fuel economy and emissions of both conventional and hybrid buses equipped with emissions aftertreatment were evaluated via computational simulation for six representative city bus drive cycles. Both series and parallel configurations for the hybrid case were studied. The simulation results indicate that series hybrid buses have the greatest overall advantage in fuel economy. The series and parallel hybrid buses were predicted to produce similar CO and HC tailpipe emissions but were also predicted to have reduced NOx tailpipe emissions compared to the conventional bus in higher speed cycles. For the New York bus cycle (NYBC), which has the lowest average speed among the cycles evaluated, the series bus tailpipe emissions were somewhat higher than they were for the conventional bus, while the parallel hybrid bus had significantly lower tailpipe emissions. All three bus powertrains were found to require periodic active DPF regeneration to maintain PM control. Plug-in operation of series hybrid buses appears to offer significant fuel economy benefits and is easily employed due to the relatively large battery capacity that is typical of the series hybrid configuration.

Individual, tubular solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) are assembled into bundles called a module within a housing, with a plurality of modules arranged end-to-end in a linear, stacked configuration called a string. A common set of piping comprised of a suitable high temperture resistant material (1) provides fuel and air to each module housing, (2) serves as electrically conducting buses, and (3) provides structural support for a string of SOFC modules. The piping thus forms a manfold for directing fuel and air to each module in a string and makes electrical contact with the module's anode and cathode to conduct the DC power generated by the SOFC. The piping also provides structureal support for each individual module and maintains each string of modules as a structurally integral unit for ensuring high strength in a large 3-dimensional array of SOFC modules. Ceramic collars are used to connect fuel and air inlet piping to each of the electrodes in an SOFC module and provide (1) electrical insulation for the current carrying bus bars and gas manifolds, (2) damping for the fuel and air inlet piping, and (3) proper spacing between the fuel and air inlet piping to prevent contact between these tubes and possible damage to the SOFC.

This report describes operations at Connecticut Transit (CTTRANSIT) in Hartford for one prototype fuel cell bus and three new diesel buses operating from the same location. The prototype fuel cell bus was manufactured by Van Hool and ISE Corp. and features an electric hybrid drive system with a UTC Power PureMotion 120 Fuel Cell Power System and ZEBRA batteries for energy storage. The fuel cell bus started operation in April 2007, and evaluation results through October 2009 are provided in this report.

Design refinements of the GTB-40 mass-transit bus include new optimization processes, subsystem, and powertrain system requirements along with traction motor, battery, and APU development and integration

Hydrogen Fuel Cell Bus Evaluations Transit buses are one of the best early transportation applications for fuel cell technology. Buses operate in congested areas where pollution is already a problem. These buses are centrally located and fueled, highly visible, and subsidized by government. By evaluating the experiences of these early adopters, NREL can determine the status of bus fuel cell systems and establish lessons learned to aid other fleets in implementing the next generation of these

the U.S. Department of Energy and the Federal Transit Administration | Department of Energy Administration Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Transit Bus Evaluations: Joint Evaluation Plan for the U.S. Department of Energy and the Federal Transit Administration This document describes the hydrogen transit bus evaluations performed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Transit Administration

the U.S. Department of Energy and the Federal Transit Administration; Appendix | Department of Energy Administration; Appendix Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Transit Bus Evaluations: Joint Evaluation Plan for the U.S. Department of Energy and the Federal Transit Administration; Appendix This document describes the hydrogen transit bus evaluations performed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the U.S. Department of Transportation's

This document constitutes the plan for collecting and reporting data associated with a special set of transit bus demonstrations to be conducted under the Urban Bus Program of the Alternative Motor Fuels Act (AMFA) of 1988. This program, called the Phase 2 Bus Data Collection Program, serves as an adjunct to the Phase I Bus Data Collection Program, collecting detailed data on just a few buses to augment and enhance the Phase 1 data in fulfilling the urban bus requirements of AMFA. Demonstrations will be conducted at a few transit system locations throughout the US and will use alternative fuels and associated technologies to reduce undesirable transit bus exhaust emissions. Several organizations will be involved in the data collection; NREL will manage the program, analyze and store vehicle data, and make these data available through the Alternative Fuels Data Center. This information will enable transit agencies, equipment manufacturers, fuel suppliers, and government policy makers to make informed decisions about buying and using alternative fuels.

Compounds may have general Formula IVA or IVB. ##STR00001## where, R.sup.8, R.sup.9, R.sup.10, and R.sup.11 are each independently selected from H, F, Cl, Br, CN, NO.sub.2, alkyl, haloalkyl, and alkoxy groups; X and Y are each independently O, S, N, or P; and Z' is a linkage between X and Y. Such compounds may be used as redox shuttles in electrolytes for use in electrochemical cells, batteries and electronic devices.

An increasing number of ITS-related after-market systems present a set of in-vehicle installation and use problems relatively unique in the history of automobile use. Many automobile manufacturers would like to offer these new state of the art devices to customers, but are hampered by the current design cycle of new cars. While auto manufacturers are indeed using multiplex buses (the automotive equivalent of a computer local area network), problems remain because manufacturers are not converging on a single bus standard. This paper presents a new dual-bus architecture to address these problems, with an In-Vehicle Information System (IVIS) research platform on which the principles embodied in the ITS Data Bus architecture can be evaluated. The dual-bus architecture has been embodied in a proposed SAE standard, with a ratification vote in December, 1996. The architecture and a reference model for the interfaces and protocols of the new bus are presented and described. The goals of the ITS Data Bus are to be inexpensive and easy to install, and to provide for safe and secure functioning. These high-level goals are embodied in the proposed standard. The IVIS Development Platform comprises a number of personal computers linked via ethernet LAN, with a high-end PC serving as the IVIS computer. In this LAN, actual devices can be inserted in place of the original PC which emulated them. This platform will serve as the development and test bed for an ITS Data Bus Conformity Test, the SAE standard for which has also been developed.

The ACP Branchbus, a high speed differential bus for data movement in multiprocessing and data acquisition environments, is described. This bus was designed as the central bus in the ACP multiprocessing system. In its full implementation with 16 branches and a bus switch, it will handle data rates of 160 MByte/sec and allow reliable data transmission over inter rack distances. We also summarize applications of the ACP system in experimental data acquisition, triggering and monitoring, with special attention paid to FASTBUS environments.

The object of this project, which is supported by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) through the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), is to provide a comprehensive comparison of heavy-duty urban transit buses operating on alternative fuels and diesel fuel. Final reports from this project were produced in 1996 from data collection and evaluation of 11 transit buses from eight transit sites. With the publication of these final reports, three issues were raised that needed further investigation: (1) the natural gas engines studied were older, open-loop control engines; (2) propane was not included in the original study; and (3) liquefied natural gas (LNG) was found to be in the early stages of deployment in transit applications. In response to these three issues, the project has continued by emissions testing newer natural gas engines and adding two new data collection sites to study the newer natural gas technology and specifically to measure new technology LNG buses.

Techniques are disclosed for increasing the throughput of a multiplexed electrical bus by exploiting available pipeline stages of a computer or other system. For example, a method for increasing a throughput of an electrical bus that connects at least two devices in a system comprises introducing at least one signal hold stage in a signal-receiving one of the two devices, such that a maximum frequency at which the two devices are operated is not limited by a number of cycles of an operating frequency of the electrical bus needed for a signal to propagate from a signal-transmitting one of the two devices to the signal-receiving one of the two devices. Preferably, the signal hold stage introduced in the signal-receiving one of the two devices is a pipeline stage re-allocated from the signal-transmitting one of the two devices.

A control system for an electric or hybrid electric vehicle includes a vehicle system controller and a control circuit having an electric immersion heater. The heater is electrically connected to the vehicle's high voltage bus and is thermally coupled to a coolant loop containing a heater core for the vehicle's climate control system. The system controller responds to cabin heat requests from the climate control system by generating a pulse width modulated signal that is used by the control circuit to operate the heater at a duty cycle appropriate for the amount of cabin heating requested. The control system also uses the heater to dissipate excess energy produced by an auxiliary power unit and to provide electric braking when regenerative braking is not desirable and manual braking is not necessary. The control system further utilizes the heater to provide a safe discharge of a bank of energy storage capacitors following disconnection of the battery or one of the high voltage connectors used to transmit high voltage operating power to the various vehicle systems. The control circuit includes a high voltage clamping circuit that monitors the voltage on the bus and operates the heater to clamp down the bus voltage when it exceeds a pre-selected maximum voltage. The control system can also be used to phase in operation of the heater when the bus voltage exceeds a lower threshold voltage and can be used to phase out the auxiliary power unit charging and regenerative braking when the battery becomes fully charged.

This report describes operations at Connecticut Transit (CTTRANSIT) in Hartford for one prototype fuel cell bus and three new diesel buses operating from the same location. The evaluation period in this report (January 2008 through February 2009) has been chosen to coincide with a UTC Power propulsion system changeout that occurred on January 15, 2008.

As more Smart Grid technologies (e.g., distributed photovoltaic, spatially distributed electric vehicle charging) are integrated into distribution grids, static distribution simulations are no longer sufficient for performing modeling and analysis. GridLAB-D is an agent-based distribution system simulation environment that allows fine-grained end-user models, including geospatial and network topology detail. A problem exists in that, without outside intervention, once the GridLAB-D simulation begins execution, it will run to completion without allowing the real-time interaction of Smart Grid controls, such as home energy management systems and aggregator control. We address this lack of runtime interaction by designing a flexible communication interface, Bus.py (pronounced bus-dot-pie), that uses Python to pass messages between one or more GridLAB-D instances and a Smart Grid simulator. This work describes the design and implementation of Bus.py, discusses its usefulness in terms of some Smart Grid scenarios, and provides an example of an aggregator-based residential demand response system interacting with GridLAB-D through Bus.py. The small scale example demonstrates the validity of the interface and shows that an aggregator using said interface is able to control residential loads in GridLAB-D during runtime to cause a reduction in the peak load on the distribution system in (a) peak reduction and (b) time-of-use pricing cases.

A circuit for controlling an ac machine comprises a full bridge network of commutation switches which are connected to supply current for a corresponding voltage phase to the stator windings, a plurality of diodes, each in parallel connection to a respective one of the commutation switches, a plurality of dc source connections providing a multi-level dc bus for the full bridge network of commutation switches to produce sinusoidal voltages or PWM signals, and a controller connected for control of said dc source connections and said full bridge network of commutation switches to output substantially sinusoidal voltages to the stator windings. With the invention, the number of semiconductor switches is reduced to m+3 for a multi-level dc bus having m levels. A method of machine control is also disclosed.

This is an evaluation of hydrogen fuel cell transit buses operating at AC Transit in revenue service since March 20, 2006 compared to similar diesel buses operating from the same depot. This evaluation report includes results from November 2007 through October 2008. Evaluation results include implementation experience, fueling station operation, fuel cell bus operations at Golden Gate Transit, and evaluation results at AC Transit (bus usage, availability, fuel economy, maintenance costs, and roadcalls).

The St. Louis Metro Bodiesel Transit Bus Evaluation project is being conducted under a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement between NREL and the National Biodiesel Board to evaluate the extended in-use performance of buses operating on B20 fuel. The objective of this research project is to compare B20 and ultra-low sulfur diesel buses in terms of fuel economy, veicles maintenance, engine performance, component wear, and lube oil performance.

Over the past three years, the California Air Resources Board (CARB), in collaboration with the University of California and other entities, has investigated the tailpipe emissions from three different latemodel, in-use heavy-duty transit buses in five different configurations. The study has focused on the measurement of regulated emissions (NOX, HC, CO, total PM), other gaseous emissions (CO2, NO2, CH4, NMHC), a number of pollutants of toxic risk significance (aromatics, carbonyls, PAHs, elements), composition (elemental and organic carbon), and the physical characterization (size-segregated number count and mass) of the particles in the exhaust aerosol. Emission samples are also tested in a modified Ames assay. The impact of oxidation catalyst control for both diesel and compressed natural gas (CNG) buses and a passive diesel particulate filter (DPF) were evaluated over multiple driving cycles (idle, 55 mph cruise, CBD, UDDS, NYBC) using a chassis dynamometer. For brevity, only CBD results are discussed in this paper and particle sizing results are omitted. The database of results is large and some findings have been reported already at various forums including last year's DEER conference. The goal of this paper is to offer an overview of the lessons learned and attempt to draw overall conclusions and interpretations based on key findings to date.

The present invention is generally related to electrolytes containing novel redox shuttles for overcharge protection of lithium-ion batteries. The redox shuttles are capable of thousands hours of overcharge tolerance and have a redox potential at about 3-5.5 V vs. Li and particularly about 4.4-4.8 V vs. Li. Accordingly, in one aspect the invention provides electrolytes comprising an alkali metal salt; a polar aprotic solvent; and a redox shuttle additive that is an aromatic compound having at least one aromatic ring with four or more electronegative substituents, two or more oxygen atoms bonded to the aromatic ring, and no hydrogen atoms bonded to the aromatic ring; and wherein the electrolyte solution is substantially non-aqueous. Further there are provided electrochemical devices employing the electrolyte and methods of making the electrolyte.

A magnetic field alignment gauge is used to measure the field angle as a function of axial position in each of the magnets for the Superconducting Super Collider (SSC). Present measurements are made by manually pushing the through the magnet bore tube and stopping at intervals to record field measurements. Gauge location is controlled through graduation marks and alignment pins on the push rods. Field measurements are recorded on a logging multimeter with tape output. Described is a computerized control system being developed to replace the manual procedure for field alignment measurements. The automated system employs a pneumatic walking device to move the measurement gauge through the bore tube. Movement of the device, called the Self-Propelled In-Tube Shuttle (SPITS), is accomplished through an integral, gas driven, double-acting cylinder. The motion of the SPITS is transferred to the bore tube by means of a pair of controlled, retractable support feet. Control of the SPITS is accomplished through an RS-422 interface from an IBM-compatible computer to a series of solenoid-actuated air valves. Direction of SPITS travel is determined by the air-valve sequence, and is managed through the control software. Precise axial position of the gauge within the magnet is returned to the control system through an optically-encoded digital position transducer attached to the shuttle. Discussed is the performance of the transport device and control system during preliminary testing of the first prototype shuttle. 1 ref., 7 figs.

In an effort to characterize the dynamics typical of school bus operation, National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) researchers set out to gather in-use duty cycle data from school bus fleets operating across the country. Employing a combination of Isaac Instruments GPS/CAN data loggers in conjunction with existing onboard telemetric systems resulted in the capture of operating information for more than 200 individual vehicles in three geographically unique domestic locations. In total, over 1,500 individual operational route shifts from Washington, New York, and Colorado were collected. Upon completing the collection of in-use field data using either NREL-installed data acquisition devices or existing onboard telemetry systems, large-scale duty-cycle statistical analyses were performed to examine underlying vehicle dynamics trends within the data and to explore vehicle operation variations between fleet locations. Based on the results of these analyses, high, low, and average vehicle dynamics requirements were determined, resulting in the selection of representative standard chassis dynamometer test cycles for each condition. In this paper, the methodology and accompanying results of the large-scale duty-cycle statistical analysis are presented, including graphical and tabular representations of a number of relationships between key duty-cycle metrics observed within the larger data set. In addition to presenting the results of this analysis, conclusions are drawn and presented regarding potential applications of advanced vehicle technology as it relates specifically to school buses.

Recursive relations are derived for the exact computation of the steady-state probability distribution of some queueing models with passive resources that can be used to analyze the performance of multiple-bus multiprocessor system architectures. The most general case that was shown to admit a product-form solution is described, and a recursive solution is obtained considering different processor access rates, different memory selection probabilities, and an FCFS bus scheduling policy. Several simpler cases allowing easier model solutions are also considered. Numerical evaluations of large computing systems with nonuniform memory references show the usefulness of the results.

Nanoscale control of matter is critical to the design of integrated nanosystems. Here, we describe a method to dynamically control directionality of microtubule (MT) motion using programmable magnetic fields. MTs are combined with magnetic quantum dots (i.e., MagDots) that are manipulated by external magnetic fields provided by magnetic nanowires. MT shuttles thus undergo both ATP-driven and externally-directed motion with a fluorescence component that permits simultaneous visualization of shuttle motion. This technology is used to alter the trajectory of MTs in motion and to pin MT motion. Ultimately, such an approach could be used to evaluate the MT-kinesin transport system andmoreÂ Â» could serve as the basis for improved lab-on-a-chip technologies based on MT transport.Â«Â less

Near term replacement of aging and obsolescent original ATR equipment has become important to ensure ATR capability in support of NEâs long term national missions. To that end, a mission needs statement has been prepared for a non-major system acquisition which is comprised of three interdependent subprojects. The first project, subject of this determination, will replace the existent diesel-electrical bus (E-3) and associated switchgear. More specifically, INL proposes transitioning ATR to 100% commercial power with appropriate emergency backup to include: âą Provide commercial power as the normal source of power to the ATR loads currently supplied by diesel-electric power. âą Provide backup power to the critical ATR loads in the event of a loss of commercial power. âą Replace obsolescent critical ATR power distribution equipment, e.g., switchgear, transformers, motor control centers, distribution panels. Completion of this and two other age-related projects (primary coolant pump and motor replacement and emergency firewater injection system replacement) will resolve major age related operational issues plus make a significant contribution in sustaining the ATR safety and reliability profile. The major modification criteria evaluation of the project pre-conceptual design identified several issues make the project a major modification: 1. Evaluation Criteria #2 (Footprint change). The addition of a new PC-4 structure to the ATR Facility to house safety-related SSCs requires careful attention to maintaining adherence to applicable engineering and nuclear safety design criteria (e.g., structural qualification, fire suppression) to ensure no adverse impacts to the safety-related functions of the housed equipment. 2. Evaluation Criteria #3 (Change of existing process). The change to the strategy for providing continuous reliable power to the safety-related emergency coolant pumps requires careful attention and analysis to ensure it meets a project primary object

This document describes the fuel cell transit bus evaluations performed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Transit Administration (FTA). This document provides a description of the demonstration sites, funding sources, and data collection activities for fuel cell transit bus evaluations currently planned from FY10 through FY12.

This is an evaluation of hydrogen fuel cell transit buses operating at AC Transit in revenue service since March 20, 2006, comparing similar diesel buses operating from the same depot. It covers November 2007 through February 2010. Results include implementation experience, fueling station operation, evaluation results at AC Transit (bus usage, availability, fuel economy, maintenance costs, and road calls), and a summary of achievements and challenges encountered during the demonstration.

NRELâs Energy DataBus is used for tracking and analyzing energy use on its own campus. The system is applicable to other facilitiesâincluding anything from a single building to a large military base or college campusâor for other energy data management needs. Managing and minimizing energy consumption on a large campus is usually a difficult task for facility managers: There may be hundreds of energy meters spread across a campus, and the meter data are often recorded by hand. Even when data are captured electronically, there may be measurement issues or time periods that may not coincide. Making sense of this limited and often confusing data can be a challenge that makes the assessment of building performance a struggle for many facility managers. The Energy DataBus software was developed by NREL to address these issues on its own campus, but with an eye toward offering its software solutions to other facilities. Key features include the software's ability to store large amounts of data collected at high frequenciesâNREL collects some of its energy data every secondâand rich functionality to integrate this wide variety of data into a single database [copied from http://en.openei.org/wiki/NREL_Energy_DataBus].

NRELs Energy DataBus is used for tracking and analyzing energy use on its own campus. The system is applicable to other facilitiesincluding anything from a single building to a large military base or college campusor for other energy data management needs. Managing and minimizing energy consumption on a large campus is usually a difficult task for facility managers: There may be hundreds of energy meters spread across a campus, and the meter data are often recorded by hand. Even when data are captured electronically, there may be measurement issues or time periods that may not coincide. Making sense of this limited and often confusing data can be a challenge that makes the assessment of building performance a struggle for many facility managers. The Energy DataBus software was developed by NREL to address these issues on its own campus, but with an eye toward offering its software solutions to other facilities. Key features include the software's ability to store large amounts of data collected at high frequenciesNREL collects some of its energy data every secondand rich functionality to integrate this wide variety of data into a single database [copied from http://en.openei.org/wiki/NREL_Energy_DataBus].

This sampling and analysis plan (SAP) presents the rationale and strategy for the sampling and analysis activities proposed in support of an initial investigation of the former Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) bus lot property currently owned by Battelle Memorial Institute. The purpose of the proposed sampling and analysis activity is to investigate the potential for contamination above established action levels. The SAP will provide defensible data of sufficient quality and quantity to support recommendations of whether any further action within the study area is warranted. To assist in preparing sampling plans and reports, the Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) has published Guidance on Sampling and Data Analysis Methods. To specifically address sampling plans for petroleum-contaminated sites, Ecology has also published Guidance for Remediation of Petroleum Contaminated Sites. Both documents were used as guidance in preparing this plan. In 1992, a soil sample was taken within the current study area as part of a project to remove two underground storage tanks (USTs) at Battelle`s Sixth Street Warehouse Petroleum Dispensing Station (Section 1.3). The results showed that the sample contained elevated levels of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) in the heavy distillate range. This current study was initiated in part as a result of that discovery. The following topics are considered: the historical background of the site, current site conditions, previous investigations performed at the site, an evaluation based on the available data, and the contaminants of potential concern (COPC).

The shuttling of polysulfide ions between the electrodes in a lithium-sulfur battery is a major technical issue limiting the self-discharge and cycle life of this high-energy rechargeable battery. Although there have been attempts to suppress the shuttling process, there has not been a direct measurement of the rate of shuttling. We report here a simple and direct measurement of the rate of the shuttling (that we term âshuttle currentâ), applicable to the study of any type of lithium-sulfur cell. We demonstrate the effectiveness of this measurement technique using cells with and without lithium nitrate (a widely-used shuttle suppressor additive). We present a phenomenological analysis of the shuttling process and simulate the shuttle currents as a function of the state-of-charge of a cell. We also demonstrate how the rate of decay of the shuttle current can be used to predict the capacity fade in a lithium-sulfur cell due to the shuttle process. As a result, we expect that this new ability to directly measure shuttle currents will provide greater insight into the performance differences observed with various additives and electrode modifications that are aimed at suppressing the rate of shuttling of polysulfide ions and increasing the cycle life of lithium-sulfur cells.

The shuttling of polysulfide ions between the electrodes in a lithium-sulfur battery is a major technical issue limiting the self-discharge and cycle life of this high-energy rechargeable battery. Although there have been attempts to suppress the shuttling process, there has not been a direct measurement of the rate of shuttling. We report here a simple and direct measurement of the rate of the shuttling (that we term shuttle current), applicable to the study of any type of lithium-sulfur cell. We demonstrate the effectiveness of this measurement technique using cells with and without lithium nitrate (a widely-used shuttle suppressor additive). We present a phenomenological analysis of the shuttling process and simulate the shuttle currents as a function of the state-of-charge of a cell. We also demonstrate how the rate of decay of the shuttle current can be used to predict the capacity fade in a lithium-sulfur cell due to the shuttle process. We expect that this new ability to directly measure shuttle currents will provide greater insight into the performance differences observed with various additives and electrode modifications that are aimed at suppressing the rate of shuttling of polysulfide ions and increasing the cycle life of lithium-sulfur cells.

The shuttling of polysulfide ions between the electrodes in a lithium-sulfur battery is a major technical issue limiting the self-discharge and cycle life of this high-energy rechargeable battery. Although there have been attempts to suppress the shuttling process, there has not been a direct measurement of the rate of shuttling. We report here a simple and direct measurement of the rate of the shuttling (that we term âshuttle currentâ), applicable to the study of any type of lithium-sulfur cell. We demonstrate the effectiveness of this measurement technique using cells with and without lithium nitrate (a widely-used shuttle suppressor additive). WemoreÂ Â» present a phenomenological analysis of the shuttling process and simulate the shuttle currents as a function of the state-of-charge of a cell. We also demonstrate how the rate of decay of the shuttle current can be used to predict the capacity fade in a lithium-sulfur cell due to the shuttle process. As a result, we expect that this new ability to directly measure shuttle currents will provide greater insight into the performance differences observed with various additives and electrode modifications that are aimed at suppressing the rate of shuttling of polysulfide ions and increasing the cycle life of lithium-sulfur cells.Â«Â less

The Freight Shuttle System (FSS) is designed to provide freight transportation services between those short and intermediate distance locations (within 600 miles) that are currently handling large volumes of freight traffic. Much like trucks, the FSS's transporters are autonomous: each transporter has its own propulsion and travels independently of other transporters. Inspired by railroads, each FSS transporter has steel wheels operating on a steel running surface and can carry either a standardsize freight container or an over-the-road truck trailer. However, unlike either rail or trucks, the FSS runs on an elevated, dedicated guideway to avoid the interference of other transportation systems. The objective of this report is to examine the potential viability for an alternative transportation system for trailers and containers in a multi-national, cross-border setting. The El Paso-Ciudad Juarez region serves as the environment of this analysis.

We investigate electron shuttling in three-terminal nanoelectromechanical device built on a movable metallic rod oscillating between two drains. The device shows a double-well shaped electromechanical potential tunable by a source-drain bias voltage. Four stationary regimes controllable by the bias are found for this device: (i) single stable fixed point, (ii) two stable fixed points, (iii) two limit cycles, and (iv) single limit cycle. In the presence of perpendicular magnetic field, the Lorentz force makes possible switching from one electromechanical state to another. The mechanism of tunable transitions between various stable regimes based on the interplay between voltage controlled electromechanical instability and magnetically controlled switching is suggested. The switching phenomenon is implemented for achieving both a reliable active current switch and sensoring of small variations of magnetic field.

ShuttleBus and Couriers ShuttleBus and Couriers ShuttleBus Route and Schedule The DOE Shuttle Buses follow the same schedules between the two main Headquarters locations, Forrestal and Germantown. The buses start their routes at each Headquarters facility at the same times, see the schedule below. The subsequent stops at the other facilities are relative to the departure time of each route. The shuttlebus departure and arrival times may be impacted by traffic, weather, or other logistical

The gas monitoring system, GMS-2, includes two gas monitors. GC-2 measures high hydrogen concentrations (0.2--10%) and GC-3 measures the lower concentration levels (10--100 ppm). Although redundant instruments are in place for accurately measuring the higher hydrogen concentrations, there are no redundant instruments to accurately measure the relatively low baseline hydrogen concentrations. The RGA-5 process gas analyzer is a two-column GC that will replace GC-2 and provide redundancy for GC-3. This upgrade will provide faster response time and reduce tank farm entries for routine operations because the RGA-5 is remotely operable. Tests were conducted according to WHC-SD-WM-TP-262, RGA-5 Process Gas Analyzer Test Plan. The first objective was to verify that the vendor-supplied RGA host data acquisition software allowed communication between the RGA-5 and an ISA bus personal computer. The second objective was to determine the capabilities of the RGA-5 process gas analyzer. The tests did the following: with a constant flow rate and pressure, determined the concentration range that each column can accurately and precisely measure; identified any uncorrected interferences from other tank gases such as ammonia, nitrous oxide, or methane; and determined the response and decay time.

The mission of the US Department of Energy's Office of Transportation Technologies is to promote the development and deployment of transportation technologies that reduce US dependence on foreign oil, while helping to improve the nation's air quality and promoting US competitiveness. In support of this mission, DOE has directed the National Renewable Energy Laboratory to conduct projects to evaluate the performance and acceptability of alternative fuel vehicles. NREL has undertaken several fleet study projects, which seek to provide objective real-world fleet experiences with AFVs. For this type of study we collect, analyze, and report on operational, cost, emissions, and performance data from AFVs being driven in a fleet application. The primary purpose of such studies is to make real-world information on AFVs available to fleet managers and other potential AFV purchasers. For this project, data was collected from 13 passenger vans operating in the Boulder/Denver, Colorado area. The study vehicles were all 1999 Ford E-350 passenger vans based at SuperShuttle's Boulder location. Five of the vans were dedicated CNG, five were bi-fuel CNG/gasoline, and three were standard gasoline vans that were used for comparison.

In 1998, Dallas Area Rapid Transit, a public transit agency in Dallas, Texas, began operating a large fleet of heavy-duty buses powered by liquefied natural gas. As part of a $16 million commitment to alternative fuels, DART operates 139 LNG buses serviced by two new LNG fueling stations.

Feed gas is directed tangentially along the non-skin surface of gas separation membrane modules comprising a cylindrical bundle of parallel contiguous hollow fibers supported to allow feed gas to flow from an inlet at one end of a cylindrical housing through the bores of the bundled fibers to an outlet at the other end while a component of the feed gas permeates through the fibers, each having the skin side on the outside, through a permeate outlet in the cylindrical casing.

Feed gas is directed tangentially along the non-skin surface of gas separation membrane modules comprising a cylindrical bundle of parallel contiguous hollow fibers supported to allow feed gas to flow from an inlet at one end of a cylindrical housing through the bores of the bundled fibers to an outlet at the other end while a component of the feed gas permeates through the fibers, each having the skin side on the outside, through a permeate outlet in the cylindrical casing.

A class of organic redox shuttle additives is described, preferably comprising nitrogen-containing aromatics compounds, which can be used in a high temperature (85.degree. C. or higher) electrochemical storage cell comprising a positive electrode, a negative electrode, and a solid polymer electrolyte to provide overcharge protection to the cell. The organic redox additives or shuttles are characterized by a high diffusion coefficient of at least 2.1.times.10.sup.-8 cm.sup.2 /second and a high onset potential of 2.5 volts or higher. Examples of such organic redox shuttle additives include an alkali metal salt of 1,2,4-triazole, an alkali metal salt of imidazole, 2,3,5,6-tetramethylpyrazine, 1,3,5-tricyanobenzene, and a dialkali metal salt of 3-4-dihydroxy-3-cyclobutene-1,2-dione.

Department of Energy Cells Shine a Light on the Last Endeavour Space Shuttle Launch Fuel Cells Shine a Light on the Last Endeavour Space Shuttle Launch May 16, 2011 - 9:35am Addthis Sunita Satyapal Director, Fuel Cell Technologies Office What does this mean for me? A new hydrogen fuel cell-powered mobile light tower that has the potential to drastically reduce dependence on diesel-fueled mobile lighting across the United States. They are cleaner and quieter than diesel mobile light towers

The report describes a project to develop the Detroit Diesel series 50 liquefied propane gas (LPG) heavy-duty engine and to conduct demonstrations of LPG-fuelled buses at selected sites (Halifax Regional Municipality and three sites in the United States). The project included five main elements: Engine development and certification, chassis re-engineering and engine installation, field demonstration, LPG fuel testing, and LPG fuel variability testing. Lessons learned with regard to engine design and other issues are discussed, and recommendations are made for further development and testing.

Measurement of a precessional rate of a gas, such as an alkali gas, in a magnetic field is made by promoting a non-uniform precession of the gas in which substantially no net magnetic field affects the gas during a majority of the precession cycle. This allows sensitive gases that would be subject to spin-exchange collision de-phasing to be effectively used for extremely sensitive measurements in the presence of an environmental magnetic field such as the Earth's magnetic field.

Feed gas is directed tangentially along the non-skin surface of gas separation membrane modules comprising a cylindrical bundle of parallel contiguous hollow fibers supported to allow feed gas to flow from an inlet at one end of a cylindrical housing through the bores of the bundled fibers to an outlet at the other end while a component of the feed gas permeates through the fibers, each having the skin side on the outside, through a permeate outlet in the cylindrical casing. 3 figs.

Feed gas is directed tangentially along the non-skin surface of gas separation membrane modules comprising a cylindrical bundle of parallel contiguous hollow fibers supported to allow feed gas to flow from an inlet at one end of a cylindrical housing through the bores of the bundled fibers to an outlet at the other end while a component of the feed gas permeates through the fibers, each having the skin side on the outside, through a permeate outlet in the cylindrical casing. 3 figs.

Sandia National Laboratory and the Argonne National Laboratory have developed a chemical solution, known as a redox shuttle additive, a chemical that prevents overcharging by electrochemically âlocking inâ a maximum voltage that is dependent on the chemical structure of the additive and the nature of the battery material.

Emissions of six 32 passenger transit buses were characterized using one of the West Virginia University (WVU) Transportable Heavy Duty Emissions Testing Laboratories, and the fixed base chassis dynamometer at the Colorado Institute for Fuels and High Altitude Engine Research (CIFHAER). Three of the buses were powered with 1997 ISB 5.9 liter Cummins diesel engines, and three were powered with the 1997 5.9 liter Cummins natural gas (NG) counterpart. The NG engines were LEV certified. Objectives were to contrast the emissions performance of the diesel and NG units, and to compare results from the two laboratories. Both laboratories found that oxides of nitrogen and particulate matter (PM) emissions were substantially lower for the natural gas buses than for the diesel buses. It was observed that by varying the rapidity of pedal movement during accelerations in the Central Business District cycle (CBD), CO and PM emissions from the diesel buses could be varied by a factor of three or more. The driving styles may be characterized as aggressive and non-aggressive, but both styles followed the CBD speed command acceptably. PM emissions were far higher for the aggressive driving style. For the NG fueled vehicles driving style had a similar, although smaller, effect on NO{sub x}. It is evident that driver habits may cause substantial deviation in emissions for the CBD cycle. When the CO emissions are used as a surrogate for driver aggression, a regression analysis shows that NO{sub x} and PM emissions from the two laboratories agree closely for equivalent driving style. Implications of driver habit for emissions inventories and regulations are briefly considered.

Oxides of nitrogen (NOx) emissions for transit buses for up to five different fuels and three standard transit duty cycles were compared to establish whether there is a real-world biodiesel NOx increase for transit bus duty cycles and engine calibrations. Six buses representing the majority of the current national transit fleet and including hybrid and selective catalyst reduction systems were tested on a heavy-duty chassis dynamometer with certification diesel, certification B20 blend, low aromatic (California Air Resources Board) diesel, low aromatic B20 blend, and B100 fuels over the Manhattan, Orange County and UDDS test cycles. Engine emissions certification level had the dominant effect on NOx; kinetic intensity was the secondary driving factor. The biodiesel effect on NOx emissions was not statistically significant for most buses and duty cycles for blends with certification diesel, except for a 2008 model year bus. CARB fuel had many more instances of a statistically significant effect of reducing NOx. SCR systems proved effective at reducing NOx to near the detection limit on all duty cycles and fuels, including B100. While offering a fuel economy benefit, a hybrid system significantly increased NOx emissions over a same year bus with a conventional drivetrain and the same engine.

Two hundred and eighty-three (283) male diesel bus garage workers from four garages in two cities were examined to determine if there was excess chronic respiratory morbidity related to diesel exposure. The dependent variables were respiratory symptoms, radiographic interpretation for pneumoconiosis, and pulmonary function (FVC, FEV1, and flow rates). Independent variables included race, age, smoking, drinking, height, and tenure (as surrogate measure of exposure). Exposure-effect relationships within the study population showed no detectable associations of symptoms with tenure. There was an apparent association of pulmonary function and tenure. Seven workers (2.5%) had category 1 pneumoconiosis (three rounded opacities, two irregular opacities, and one with both rounded and irregular). The study population was also compared to a nonexposed blue-collar population. After indirect adjustment for age, race, and smoking, the study population had elevated prevalences of cough, phlegm, and wheezing, but there was no association with tenure. Dyspnea showed a dose-response trend but no apparent increase in prevalence. Mean percent predicted pulmonary function of the study population was greater than 100%, i.e., elevated above the comparison population. These data show there is an apparent effect of diesel exhaust on pulmonary function but not chest radiographs. Respiratory symptoms are high compared to blue-collar workers, but there is no relationship with tenure.

In this study, we derive a strengthened MILP formulation for certain gas turbine unit commitment problems, in which the ramping rates are no smaller than the minimum generation amounts. This type of gas turbines can usually start-up faster and have a larger ramping rate, as compared to the traditional coal-fired power plants. Recently, the number of this type of gas turbines increases significantly due to affordable gas prices and their scheduling flexibilities to accommodate intermittent renewable energy generation. In this study, several new families of strong valid inequalities are developed to help reduce the computational time to solve these typesmoreÂ Â» of problems. Meanwhile, the validity and facet-defining proofs are provided for certain inequalities. Finally, numerical experiments on a modified IEEE 118-bus system and the power system data based on recent studies verify the effectiveness of applying our formulation to model and solve this type of gas turbine unit commitment problems, including reducing the computational time to obtain an optimal solution or obtaining a much smaller optimality gap, as compared to the default CPLEX, when the time limit is reached with no optimal solutions obtained.Â«Â less

In this study, we derive a strengthened MILP formulation for certain gas turbine unit commitment problems, in which the ramping rates are no smaller than the minimum generation amounts. This type of gas turbines can usually start-up faster and have a larger ramping rate, as compared to the traditional coal-fired power plants. Recently, the number of this type of gas turbines increases significantly due to affordable gas prices and their scheduling flexibilities to accommodate intermittent renewable energy generation. In this study, several new families of strong valid inequalities are developed to help reduce the computational time to solve these types of problems. Meanwhile, the validity and facet-defining proofs are provided for certain inequalities. Finally, numerical experiments on a modified IEEE 118-bus system and the power system data based on recent studies verify the effectiveness of applying our formulation to model and solve this type of gas turbine unit commitment problems, including reducing the computational time to obtain an optimal solution or obtaining a much smaller optimality gap, as compared to the default CPLEX, when the time limit is reached with no optimal solutions obtained.

A gas sensor is described which incorporates a sensor stack comprising a first film layer of a ferromagnetic material, a spacer layer, and a second film layer of the ferromagnetic material. The first film layer is fabricated so that it exhibits a dependence of its magnetic anisotropy direction on the presence of a gas, That is, the orientation of the easy axis of magnetization will flip from out-of-plane to in-plane when the gas to be detected is present in sufficient concentration. By monitoring the change in resistance of the sensor stack when the orientation of the first layer's magnetization changes, and correlating that change with temperature one can determine both the identity and relative concentration of the detected gas. In one embodiment the stack sensor comprises a top ferromagnetic layer two mono layers thick of cobalt deposited upon a spacer layer of ruthenium, which in turn has a second layer of cobalt disposed on its other side, this second cobalt layer in contact with a programmable heater chip.

Automatika, Inc. was contracted by the Department of Energy (DOE) and with co-funding from the Northeast Gas Association (NGA), to develop an in-pipe natural gas prototype measurement and wireless communications system for assessing and monitoring distribution networks. This projected was completed in April 2006, and culminated in the installation of more than 2 dozen GasNet nodes in both low- and high-pressure cast-iron and steel mains owned by multiple utilities in the northeastern US. Utilities are currently logging data (off-line) and monitoring data in real time from single and multiple networked sensors over cellular networks and collecting data using wireless bluetooth PDA systems. The system was designed to be modular, using in-pipe sensor-wands capable of measuring, flow, pressure, temperature, water-content and vibration. Internal antennae allowed for the use of the pipe-internals as a waveguide for setting up a sensor network to collect data from multiple nodes simultaneously. Sensor nodes were designed to be installed with low- and no-blow techniques and tools. Using a multi-drop bus technique with a custom protocol, all electronics were designed to be buriable and allow for on-board data-collection (SD-card), wireless relaying and cellular network forwarding. Installation options afforded by the design included direct-burial and external polemounted variants. Power was provided by one or more batteries, direct AC-power (Class I Div.2) and solar-array. The utilities are currently in a data-collection phase and intend to use the collected (and processed) data to make capital improvement decisions, compare it to Stoner model predictions and evaluate the use of such a system for future expansion, technology-improvement and commercialization starting later in 2006.

A seal is described for a cover closing an opening in the top of a pressure vessel that may house a nuclear reactor. The seal comprises a U-shaped trough formed on the pressure vessel around the opening therein, a mass of metal in the trough, and an edge flange on the cover extending loosely into the trough and dipping into the metal mass. The lower portion of the metal mass is kept melted, and the upper portion, solid. The solid pontion of the metal mass prevents pressure surges in the vessel from expelling the liquid portion of the metal mass from the trough; the liquld portion, thus held in place by the solid portion, does not allow gas to go through, and so gas cannot escape through shrinkage holes in the solid portion.

On March 21, 1986, the United States Bureau of Reclamation experienced a ground fault in the main parallel ring assembly of Unit G19 - a 615-MVA hydroelectric generator - at Grand Coulee Dam, Washington. Inspection of the unit revealed that the ground fault had been induced by fracture of one or more of the copper connectors used to join adjacent segments of one of the bus bars in the north half of the assembly. Various experimental techniques were used to detect and determine the presence of cracks, crack morphology, corrosion products, and material microstructure and/or embrittlement. The results of these inspections and recommendations are given. 7 refs., 27 figs.

Bcl2-associated athoanogene (BAG) 3 is a member of the co-chaperone BAG family. It is induced by stressful stimuli such as heat shock and heavy metals, and it regulates cellular adaptive responses against stressful conditions. In this study, we identified a novel role for BAG3 in regulating the nuclear shuttling of HSF1 during heat stress. The expression level of BAG3 was induced by heat stress in HeLa cells. Interestingly, BAG3 rapidly translocalized to the nucleus upon heat stress. Immunoprecipitation assay showed that BAG3 interacts with HSF1 under normal and stressed conditions and co-translocalizes to the nucleus upon heat stress. We also demonstrated that BAG3 interacts with HSF1 via its BAG domain. Over-expression of BAG3 down-regulates the level of nuclear HSF1 by exporting it to the cytoplasm during the recovery period. Depletion of BAG3 using siRNA results in reduced nuclear HSF1 and decreased Hsp70 promoter activity. BAG3 in MEF(hsf1{sup â/â}) cells actively translocalizes to the nucleus upon heat stress suggesting that BAG3 plays a key role in the processing of the nucleocytoplasmic shuttling of HSF1 upon heat stress. - Highlights: âą The expression level of BAG3 is induced by heat stress. âą BAG3 translocates to the nucleus upon heat stress. âą BAG3 interacts with HSF1 and co-localizes to the nucleus. âą BAG3 is a key regulator for HSF1 nuclear shuttling.

Dalal et al performed a statistical analysis of field and nozzle O-ring data collected prior to the ill-fated launch of the Challenger in January 1986. The purpose of their analysis was to show how statistical analysis could be used to provide information to decisionmakers prior to the launch, information that could have been expected to lead to a decision to abort the launch due to the low temperatures (~30o F.) present at the launch pad on the morning of the scheduled launch. Dalal et al. performed a frequentist analysis of the O-ring data, and found that a logistic regression model provided a relatively good fit to the past data. In the second portion of their paper, Dalal et al. propagated parameter uncertainties through the fitted logistic regression model in order to estimate the probability of shuttle failure due to O-ring failure at the estimated launch temperature of ~30o F. Because their analysis was frequentist in nature, probability distributions representing epistemic uncertainty in the input parameters were not available, and the authors had to resort to an approximate approach based on bootstrap confidence intervals. In this paper, we will re-evaluate the analyses of Dalal et al. from a Bayesian perspective. Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) sampling will be used to sample from the joint posterior distribution of the model parameters, and to sample from the posterior predictive distributions at the estimated launch temperature, a temperature that had not been observed in prior launches of the space shuttle. Uncertainties, which are represented by probability distributions in the Bayesian approach, are propagated through the model to obtain a probability distribution for O-ring failure, and subsequently for shuttle failure as a result of O-ring failure. No approximations are required in the Bayesian approach and the resulting distributions can be input to a decision analysis to obtain expected utility for the decision to launch.

Astronauts have been taking photographs of earth since 1965, years before unmanned satellites began systematic coverage. The trained eye of an intelligent observer permits the rapid identification of a feature or an anomaly so that it can be the central focus of the photograph, rather than one of an endless stream of information from an unmanned satellite through which the interpreter has to sort and pick. This paper describes some of the environmental uses of hand-held photography since the launch of the first Space Shuttle in April, 1981.

Personal samples of nitrogen dioxide (NO/sub 2/) and respirable particulate (RP) were collected over the shift on 232 workers in four diesel bus garages. Response was assessed by an acute respiratory questionnaire and before and after shift spirometry. Measures of exposure to NO/sub 2/ and RP were associated with work-related symptoms of cough; itching, burning, or watering eyes; difficult or labored breathing; chest tightness; and wheeze. The prevalence of burning eyes, headaches, difficult or labored breathing, nausea, and wheeze experienced at work were higher in the diesel bus garage workers than in a comparison population of battery workers, while the prevalence of headaches was reduced. Mean reductions in forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in 1 sec (FEV1), peak flow, and flows at 50 and 75% of FVC were not obviously different from zero. There was no detectable association of exposure to NO/sub 2/ or respirable particulate and acute reductions in pulmonary function. Workers who often had respiratory work-related symptoms generally had a slightly greater mean acute reduction in FEV1 and FEF50 than did those who did not have these symptoms, but these differences were not statistically significant.

The US Department of Energy (DOE) is sponsoring compressed natural gas (CNF)-powered school bus demonstrations in various locations around the country. Early in 1994, two non-DOE-sponsored CNG pickup trucks equipped with composite-reinforced-aluminum fuel cylinders experienced cylinder ruptures during refueling. As reported by the Gas Research Institute (GRI): ...analysis of the cylinder ruptures on the pickup trucks revealed that they were due to acid-induced stress corrosion cracking (SCC) of the overwrap. The overwrap that GRI refers to is a resin-impregnated fiber that is wrapped around the outside of the gas cylinder for added strength. Because ensuring the safety of the CNG vehicles it sponsors is of paramount concern to DOE, the Department, through the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), conducted inspections of DOE-sponsored vehicles nationwide. The work had three objectives: inspection, documentation, and education. First, inspectors visited sites where CNG-powered school buses sponsored by DOE are based, and inspected the CNG cylinders for damage. Second, information learned during the inspections was collected for DOE. Third, the inspections found that the education and awareness of site personnel, in terms of cylinder damage detection, needed to be increased.

Data has been gathered using the West Virginia University Heavy Duty Transportable Emissions Laboratories from buses operating on diesel and a variety of alternate fuels in the field. Emissions data are acquired from buses using the Central Business District cycle reported in SAE Standard J1376; this cycle has 14 ramps with 20 mph (32.2 km/h) peaks, separated by idle periods. During the three years of testing, a significant fraction of emissions data was acquired from buses with Cummins L-10 engines designed to operate on either CNG or diesel. The CNG lean burn engines were spark ignited and throttled. Early CNG engines, which were pre-certification demonstration models, have provided the bulk of the data, but data from 9 buses with more advanced technology were also available. It has been found that carbon monoxide (CO) levels from early Cummins L-10 CNG powered buses varied greatly from bus to bus, with the higher values ascribed to either faulty catalytic converters or a rich idle situation, while the later model CNG L-10 engines offered CO levels considerably lower than those typical of diesel engines. The NO{sub x} emissions were on par with those from diesel L-10 buses. Those natural gas buses with engines adjusted correctly for air-fuel ratio, returned very low emissions data. CNG bus hydrocarbon emissions are not readily compared with diesel engine levels since only the non-methane organic gases (NMOG) are of interest. Data show that NMOG levels are low for the CNG buses. Significant reduction was observed in the particulate matter emitted by the CNG powered buses compared to the diesel buses, in most cases the quantity captured was vanishingly small. Major conclusions are that engine maintenance is crucial if emissions are to remain at design levels and that the later generation CNG engines show marked improvement over the earlier models. One may project for the long term that closed loop stoichiometry control is desirable even in lean burn applications.

A process for conditioning natural gas containing C.sub.3+ hydrocarbons and/or acid gas, so that it can be used as combustion fuel to run gas-powered equipment, including compressors, in the gas field or the gas processing plant. Compared with prior art processes, the invention creates lesser quantities of low-pressure gas per unit volume of fuel gas produced. Optionally, the process can also produce an NGL product.

This report, based on interviews and site visits conducted in October 1999, describes the start-up activities of the DART liquefied natural gas program, identifying problem areas, highlighting successes, and capturing the lessons learned in DART's ongoing efforts to remain at the forefront of the transit industry.

Interest in liquefied natural gas (LNG) as an alternative vehicle fuel has increased significantly. Its greater storage density relative to compressed natural gas makes it an attractive option for both volume and weight constrained vehicle applications. The public transportation market, specifically transit bus properties, have been very aggressive in pursuing LNG as an alternative vehicle fuel. Naturally, when dealing with the general public and a new transportation fuel, the issue of safety must be addressed. With this in mind, the Gas Research Institute has initiated a number of safety related studies including an investigation of the use of odorants in LNG. This paper presents the preliminary results of an investigation performed by the Institute of Gas Technology to determine both the applicability and effectiveness of odorizing LNG. This includes an overview of the current state-of-the-art in LNG vehicle fueling and safety systems as well as a discussion of an LNG odorization program conducted by San Diego Gas & Electric in the mid 70`s. Finally, the paper discusses the results of the modeling effort to determine whether conventional odorants used in natural gas can be injected and remain soluble in LNG at temperatures and pressures encountered in LNG fueling and on-board storage systems.

An electrolyte includes an alkali metal salt; an aprotic solvent; and a redox shuttle additive including an aromatic compound having at least one aromatic ring fused with at least one non-aromatic ring, the aromatic ring having two or more oxygen or phosphorus-containing substituents.

A gas-amplified ionization detector for gas chromatrography which possesses increased sensitivity and a very fast response time. Solutes eluding from a gas chromatographic column are ionized by UV photoionization of matter eluting therefrom. The detector is capable of generating easily measured voltage signals by gas amplification/multiplication of electron products resulting from the UV photoionization of at least a portion of each solute passing through the detector.

A reagent gas and a sample gas are chemically combined on a continuous basis in a reaction zone maintained at a selected temperature. The reagent gas and the sample gas are introduced to the reaction zone at preselected. constant molar rates of flow. The reagent gas and the selected gas in the sample mixture combine in the reaction zone to form a product gas having a different number of moles from the sum of the moles of the reactants. The difference in the total molar rates of flow into and out of the reaction zone is measured and indicated to determine the concentration of the selected gas.

Precise measurements of a precessional rate of noble gas in a magnetic field is obtained by constraining the time averaged direction of the spins of a stimulating alkali gas to lie in a plane transverse to the magnetic field. In this way, the magnetic field of the alkali gas does not provide a net contribution to the precessional rate of the noble gas.

A compressed gas storage cell interconnecting manifold including a thermally activated pressure relief device, a manual safety shut-off valve, and a port for connecting the compressed gas storage cells to a motor vehicle power source and to a refueling adapter. The manifold is mechanically and pneumatically connected to a compressed gas storage cell by a bolt including a gas passage therein.

This book presents an overview of the present status and future development in Asia of domestic and export markets for natural gas and to describes gas utilization technologies that will help these markets grow. A perspective of natural gas transmission, transport, distribution, and utilization is presented. The papers in this book are organized under several topics. The topics are : Asian natural gas markets, Technology of natural gas export projects, Technology of domestic natural gas projects, and Natural gas utilization in power generation, air conditioning, and other applications.

Natural Gas Resources Useful for heating, manufacturing, and as chemical feedstock, natural gas has the added benefit of producing fewer greenhouse gas emissions than other fossil fuels used in power production.The United States is endowed with an abundance of natural gas resources, so increasing use of natural gas power can help strengthen domestic energy security. NETL research efforts enhance technologies that reduce the cost, increase the efficiency, and reduce the environmental risk of

A variable leak gas source and a method for obtaining the same which includes filling a quantity of hollow glass micro-spheres with a gas, storing said quantity in a confined chamber having a controllable outlet, heating said chamber above room temperature, and controlling the temperature of said chamber to control the quantity of gas passing out of said controllable outlet. Individual gas filled spheres may be utilized for calibration purposes by breaking a sphere having a known quantity of a known gas to calibrate a gas detection apparatus.

RAMSGAS, the Research and Development Analysis Modeling System World Natural Gas Model, was developed to support planning of unconventional gaseoues fuels research and development. The model is a scenario analysis tool that can simulate the penetration of unconventional gas into world markets for oil and gas. Given a set of parameter values, the model estimates the natural gas supply and demand for the world for the period from 1980 to 2030. RAMSGAS is based onmoreÂ Â» a supply/demand framwork and also accounts for the non-renewable nature of gas resources. The model has three fundamental components: a demand module, a wellhead production cost module, and a supply/demand interface module. The demand for gas is a product of total demand for oil and gas in each of 9 demand regions and the gas share. Demand for oil and gas is forecast from the base year of 1980 through 2030 for each demand region, based on energy growth rates and price-induced conservation. For each of 11 conventional and 19 unconventional gas supply regions, wellhead production costs are calculated. To these are added transportation and distribution costs estimates associated with moving gas from the supply region to each of the demand regions and any economic rents. Based on a weighted average of these costs and the world price of oil, fuel shares for gas and oil are computed for each demand region. The gas demand is the gas fuel share multiplied by the total demand for oil plus gas. This demand is then met from the available supply regions in inverse proportion to the cost of gas from each region. The user has almost complete control over the cost estimates for each unconventional gas source in each year and thus can compare contributions from unconventional resources under different cost/price/demand scenarios.Â«Â less

An improved membrane gas separation process is described comprising: (a) passing a feed gas stream to the non-permeate side of a membrane system adapted for the passage of purge gas on the permeate side thereof, and for the passage of the feed gas stream in a counter current flow pattern relative to the flow of purge gas on the permeate side thereof, said membrane system being capable of selectively permeating a fast permeating component from said feed gas, at a feed gas pressure at or above atmospheric pressure; (b) passing purge gas to the permeate side of the membrane system in counter current flow to the flow of said feed gas stream in order to facilitate carrying away of said fast permeating component from the surface of the membrane and maintaining the driving force for removal of the fast permeating component through the membrane from the feed gas stream, said permeate side of the membrane being maintained at a subatmospheric pressure within the range of from about 0.1 to about 5 psia by vacuum pump means; (c) recovering a product gas stream from the non-permeate side of the membrane; and (d) discharging purge gas and the fast permeating component that has permeated the membrane from the permeate side of the membrane, whereby the vacuum conditions maintained on the permeate side of the membrane by said vacuum pump means enhance the efficiency of the gas separation operation, thereby reducing the overall energy requirements thereof.

The reinforced carbon-carbon (RCC) heat shield components on the Space Shuttle's wings must withstand harsh atmospheric reentry environments where the wing leading edge can reach temperatures of 3,000 F. Potential damage includes impact damage, micro cracks, oxidation in the silicon carbide-to-carbon-carbon layers, and interlaminar disbonds. Since accumulated damage in the thick, carbon-carbon and silicon-carbide layers of the heat shields can lead to catastrophic failure of the Shuttle's heat protection system, it was essential for NASA to institute an accurate health monitoring program. NASA's goal was to obtain turnkey inspection systems that could certify the integrity of the Shuttle heat shields prior to each mission. Because of the possibility of damaging the heat shields during removal, the NDI devices must be deployed without removing the leading edge panels from the wing. Recently, NASA selected a multi-method approach for inspecting the wing leading edge which includes eddy current, thermography, and ultrasonics. The complementary superposition of these three inspection techniques produces a rigorous Orbiter certification process that can reliably detect the array of flaws expected in the Shuttle's heat shields. Sandia Labs produced an in-situ ultrasonic inspection method while NASA Langley developed the eddy current and thermographic techniques. An extensive validation process, including blind inspections monitored by NASA officials, demonstrated the ability of these inspection systems to meet the accuracy, sensitivity, and reliability requirements. This report presents the ultrasonic NDI development process and the final hardware configuration. The work included the use of flight hardware and scrap heat shield panels to discover and overcome the obstacles associated with damage detection in the RCC material. Optimum combinations of custom ultrasonic probes and data analyses were merged with the inspection procedures needed to properly survey the heat

A positive displacement, recirculating Roots-type rotary gas compressor which operates on the basis of flow work compression. The compressor includes a pair of large diameter recirculation conduits (24 and 26) which return compressed discharge gas to the compressor housing (14), where it is mixed with low pressure inlet gas, thereby minimizing adiabatic heating of the gas. The compressor includes a pair of involutely lobed impellers (10 and 12) and an associated port configuration which together result in uninterrupted flow of recirculation gas. The large diameter recirculation conduits equalize gas flow velocities within the compressor and minimize gas flow losses. The compressor is particularly suited to applications requiring sustained operation at higher gas compression ratios than have previously been feasible with rotary pumps, and is particularly applicable to refrigeration or other applications requiring condensation of a vapor.

A positive displacement, recirculating Roots-type rotary gas compressor is described which operates on the basis of flow work compression. The compressor includes a pair of large diameter recirculation conduits which return compressed discharge gas to the compressor housing, where it is mixed with low pressure inlet gas, thereby minimizing adiabatic heating of the gas. The compressor includes a pair of involutely lobed impellers and an associated port configuration which together result in uninterrupted flow of recirculation gas. The large diameter recirculation conduits equalize gas flow velocities within the compressor and minimize gas flow losses. The compressor is particularly suited to applications requiring sustained operation at higher gas compression ratios than have previously been feasible with rotary pumps, and is particularly applicable to refrigeration or other applications requiring condensation of a vapor. 12 figs.

This document provides information on the supply and disposition of natural gas to a wide audience. The 1996 data are presented in a sequence that follows natural gas from it`s production to it`s end use.

A microminiature gas chromatograph ({mu}GC) comprising a least one silicon wafer, a gas injector, a column, and a detector. The gas injector has a normally closed valve for introducing a mobile phase including a sample gas in a carrier gas. The valve is fully disposed in the silicon wafer(s). The column is a microcapillary in silicon crystal with a stationary phase and is mechanically connected to receive the mobile phase from the gas injector for the molecular separation of compounds in the sample gas. The detector is mechanically connected to the column for the analysis of the separated compounds of sample gas with electronic means, e.g., ion cell, field emitter and PIN diode. 7 figs.

A microminiature gas chromatograph (.mu.GC) comprising a least one silicon wafer, a gas injector, a column, and a detector. The gas injector has a normally closed valve for introducing a mobile phase including a sample gas in a carrier gas. The valve is fully disposed in the silicon wafer(s). The column is a microcapillary in silicon crystal with a stationary phase and is mechanically connected to receive the mobile phase from the gas injector for the molecular separation of compounds in the sample gas. The detector is mechanically connected to the column for the analysis of the separated compounds of sample gas with electronic means, e.g., ion cell, field emitter and PIN diode.

Methane Gas Outreach Home Room News Publications Traditional Knowledge Kiosks Barrow, Alaska Tropical Western Pacific Site Tours Contacts Students Study Hall About ARM Global Warming FAQ Just for Fun Meet our Friends Cool Sites Teachers Teachers' Toolbox Lesson Plans Methane Gas Methane gas is another naturally occurring greenhouse gas. It is produced as a result of microbial activity in the absence of oxygen. Pre-industrial concentrations of methane were about 700 ppb and in 1994 they were up

The Natural Gas Annual provides information on the supply and disposition of natural gas to a wide audience including industry, consumers, Federal and State agencies, and educational institutions. The 1995 data are presented in a sequence that follows natural gas (including supplemental supplies) from its production to its end use. This is followed by tables summarizing natural gas supply and disposition from 1991 to 1995 for each Census Division and each State. Annual historical data are shown at the national level.

The Natural Gas Annual provides information on the supply and disposition of natural gas to a wide audience including industry, consumers, Federal and State agencies, and educational institutions. The 1994 data are presented in a sequence that follows natural gas (including supplemental supplies) from its production to its end use. This is followed by tables summarizing natural gas supply and disposition from 1990 to 1994 for each Census Division and each State. Annual historical data are shown at the national level.

A system is provided for testing the hermeticity of a package, such as a microelectromechanical systems package containing a sealed gas volume, with a sampling device that has the capability to isolate the package and breach the gas seal connected to a pulse valve that can controllably transmit small volumes down to 2 nanoliters to a gas chamber for analysis using gas chromatography/mass spectroscopy diagnostics.

The invention is pneumatically operated valve assembly for simulatenously (1) closing gas-transfer lines connected to a gas centrifuge or the like and (2) establishing a recycle path between two on the lines so closed. The value assembly is especially designed to be compact, fast-acting, reliable, and comparatively inexpensive. It provides large reductions in capital costs for gas-centrifuge cascades.

Disclosed is a cooler for television cameras and other temperature sensitive equipment. The cooler uses compressed gas ehich is accelerated to a high velocity by passing it through flow passageways having nozzle portions which expand the gas. This acceleration and expansion causes the gas to undergo a decrease in temperature thereby cooling the cooler body and adjacent temperature sensitive equipment.

Environmental and economic benefits could accrue from a safe, above-ground, natural-gas storage process allowing electric power plants to utilize natural gas for peak load demands; numerous other applications of a gas storage process exist. A laboratory study conducted in 1999 to determine the feasibility of a gas-hydrates storage process looked promising. The subsequent scale-up of the process was designed to preserve important features of the laboratory apparatus: (1) symmetry of hydrate accumulation, (2) favorable surface area to volume ratio, (3) heat exchanger surfaces serving as hydrate adsorption surfaces, (4) refrigeration system to remove heat liberated from bulk hydrate formation, (5) rapid hydrate formation in a non-stirred system, (6) hydrate self-packing, and (7) heat-exchanger/adsorption plates serving dual purposes to add or extract energy for hydrate formation or decomposition. The hydrate formation/storage/decomposition Proof-of-Concept (POC) pressure vessel and supporting equipment were designed, constructed, and tested. This final report details the design of the scaled POC gas-hydrate storage process, some comments on its fabrication and installation, checkout of the equipment, procedures for conducting the experimental tests, and the test results. The design, construction, and installation of the equipment were on budget target, as was the tests that were subsequently conducted. The budget proposed was met. The primary goal of storing 5000-scf of natural gas in the gas hydrates was exceeded in the final test, as 5289-scf of gas storage was achieved in 54.33 hours. After this 54.33-hour period, as pressure in the formation vessel declined, additional gas went into the hydrates until equilibrium pressure/temperature was reached, so that ultimately more than the 5289-scf storage was achieved. The time required to store the 5000-scf (48.1 hours of operating time) was longer than designed. The lower gas hydrate formation rate is attributed to a

This paper briefly describes the wellhead prices of natural gas compared to crude oil over the past 70 years. Although natural gas prices have never reached price parity with crude oil, the relative value of a gas BTU has been increasing. It is one of the reasons that the total amount of money coming from natural gas wells is becoming more significant. From 1920 to 1955 the revenue at the wellhead for natural gas was only about 10% of the money received by producers. Most of the money needed for exploration, development, and production came from crude oil. At present, however, over 40% of the money from the upstream portion of the petroleum industry is from natural gas. As a result, in a few short years natural gas may become 50% of the money revenues generated from wellhead production facilities.

A system is described that is suitable for use in determining the location of leaks of gases having a background concentration. The system is a point-wise backscatter absorption gas measurement system that measures absorption and distance to each point of an image. The absorption measurement provides an indication of the total amount of a gas of interest, and the distance provides an estimate of the background concentration of gas. The distance is measured from the time-of-flight of laser pulse that is generated along with the absorption measurement light. The measurements are formated into an image of the presence of gas in excess of the background. Alternatively, an image of the scene is superimosed on the image of the gas to aid in locating leaks. By further modeling excess gas as a plume having a known concentration profile, the present system provides an estimate of the maximum concentration of the gas of interest.

A process and apparatus for removing sulfur oxide from combustion gas to form Na.sub.2 SO.sub.4 and for reducing the harmful effects of Na.sub.2 SO.sub.4 on auxiliary heat exchangers in which a sodium compound is injected into the hot combustion gas forming liquid Na.sub.2 SO.sub.4 in a gas-gas reaction and the resultant gas containing Na.sub.2 SO.sub.4 is cooled to below about 1150.degree. K. to form particles of Na.sub.2 SO.sub.4 prior to contact with at least one heat exchanger with the cooling being provided by the recycling of combustion gas from a cooled zone downstream from the introduction of the cooling gas.

ShuttleBus Conversion at Zion National Park Evaluates Propane-to-Electricity ShuttleBus Conversion at Zion National Park July 14, 2016 Photo of shuttle buses in mountain setting. NREL is evaluating the drive-cycle characteristics of a fleet of propane-powered shuttle buses operating at Zion National Park. The National Park Service (NPS) originally deployed the propane buses in 2000 to reduce congestion along the park's main traffic corridor. As the propane-powered fleet ages and associated

The invention involves a combustion process in which combustion gas containing sulfur oxide is directed past a series of heat exchangers to a stack and in which a sodium compound is added to the combustion gas in a temparature zone of above about 1400 K to form Na/sub 2/SO/sub 4/. Preferably, the temperature is above about 1800 K and the sodium compound is present as a vapor to provide a gas-gas reaction to form Na/sub 2/SO/sub 4/ as a liquid. Since liquid Na/sub 2/SO/sub 4/ may cause fouling of heat exchanger surfaces downstream from the combustion zone, the process advantageously includes the step of injecting a cooling gas downstream of the injection of the sodium compound yet upstream of one or more heat exchangers to cool the combustion gas to below about 1150 K and form solid Na/sub 2/SO/sub 4/. The cooling gas is preferably a portion of the combustion gas downstream which may be recycled for cooling. It is further advantageous to utilize an electrostatic precipitator downstream of the heat exchangers to recover the Na/sub 2/SO/sub 4/. It is also advantageous in the process to remove a portion of the combustion gas cleaned in the electrostatic precipitator and recycle that portion upstream to use as the cooling gas. 3 figures.

An apparatus for preventing oxidation by uniformly distributing inert shielding gas over the weld area of workpieces such as pipes being welded together. The apparatus comprises a chamber and a gas introduction element. The chamber has an annular top wall, an annular bottom wall, an inner side wall and an outer side wall connecting the top and bottom walls. One side wall is a screen and the other has a portion defining an orifice. The gas introduction element has a portion which encloses the orifice and can be one or more pipes. The gas introduction element is in fluid communication with the chamber and introduces inert shielding gas into the chamber. The inert gas leaves the chamber through the screen side wall and is dispersed evenly over the weld area.

An apparatus is disclosed for preventing oxidation by uniformly distributing inert shielding gas over the weld area of workpieces such as pipes being welded together. The apparatus comprises a chamber and a gas introduction element. The chamber has an annular top wall, an annular bottom wall, an inner side wall and an outer side wall connecting the top and bottom walls. One side wall is a screen and the other has a portion defining an orifice. The gas introduction element has a portion which encloses the orifice and can be one or more pipes. The gas introduction element is in fluid communication with the chamber and introduces inert shielding gas into the chamber. The inert gas leaves the chamber through the screen side wall and is dispersed evenly over the weld area. 3 figs.

An apparatus for preventing oxidation by uniformly distributing inert shielding gas over the weld area of workpieces such as pipes being welded together. The apparatus comprises a chamber and a gas introduction element. The chamber has an annular top wall, an annular bottom wall, an inner side wall and an outer side wall connecting the top and bottom walls. One side wall is a screen and the other has a portion defining an orifice. The gas introduction element has a portion which encloses the orifice and can be one or more pipes. The gas introduction element is in fluid communication with the chamber and introduces inert shielding gas into the chamber. The inert gas leaves the chamber through the screen side wall and is dispersed evenly over the weld area.

A liquid piston gas pump is described, capable of pumping minute amounts of gas in accurately measurable quantities. The pump consists of a flanged cylindrical regulating chamber and a mercury filled bellows. Sealed to the ABSTRACTS regulating chamber is a value and having a gas inlet and outlet, the inlet being connected by a helical channel to the bellows. A gravity check valve is in the gas outlet, so the gas passes through the inlet and the helical channel to the bellows where the pumping action as well as the metering is accomplished by the actuation of the mercury filled bellows. The gas then flows through the check valve and outlet to any associated apparatus.

The invention is a pneumatically operated valve assembly for simultaneously (1) closing gas-transfer lines connected to a gas centrifuge or the like and (2) establishing a recycle path between two of the lines so closed. The valve assembly is especially designed to be compact, fast-acting, reliable, and comparatively inexpensive. It provides large reductions in capital costs for gas-centrifuge cascades.

A pulsed gas laser is constituted by Blumlein circuits wherein space metal plates function both as capacitors and transmission lines coupling high frequency oscillations to a gas filled laser tube. The tube itself is formed by spaced metal side walls which function as connections to the electrodes to provide for a high frequency, high voltage discharge in the tube to cause the gas to lase. Also shown is a spark gap switch having structural features permitting a long life.

A system to vent a moist gas stream is disclosed. The system includes an enclosure and an electrochemical cell disposed within the enclosure, the electrochemical cell productive of the moist gas stream. A first vent is in fluid communication with the electrochemical cell for venting the moist gas stream to an exterior of the enclosure, and a second vent is in fluid communication with an interior of the enclosure and in thermal communication with the first vent for discharging heated air to the exterior of the enclosure. At least a portion of the discharging heated air is for preventing freezing of the moist gas stream within the first vent.

An atmospheric gas sampler with a multi-port valve which allows for multi, sequential sampling of air through a plurality of gas sampling tubes mounted in corresponding gas inlet ports. The gas sampler comprises a flow-through housing which defines a sampling chamber and includes a gas outlet port to accommodate a flow of gases through the housing. An apertured sample support plate defining the inlet ports extends across and encloses the sampling chamber and supports gas sampling tubes which depend into the sampling chamber and are secured across each of the inlet ports of the sample support plate in a flow-through relation to the flow of gases through the housing during sampling operations. A normally closed stopper means mounted on the sample support plate and operatively associated with each of the inlet ports blocks the flow of gases through the respective gas sampling tubes. A camming mechanism mounted on the sample support plate is adapted to rotate under and selectively lift open the stopper spring to accommodate a predetermined flow of gas through the respective gas sampling tubes when air is drawn from the housing through the outlet port.

The Natural Gas Annual provides information on the supply and disposition of natural gas to a wide audience including industry, consumers, Federal and State agencies, and educational institutions. The 1997 data are presented in a sequence that follows natural gas (including supplemental supplies) from its production to its end use. This is followed by tables summarizing natural gas supply and disposition from 1993 to 1997 for each Census Division and each State. Annual historical data are shown at the national level. 27 figs., 109 tabs.

Of the 242 major gas fields in the Permian basin, 67 are on the Central Basin Platform, 59 are in the Delaware basin, 44 are in the Midland basin, 28 are in the Val Verde basin, 24 are on the Eastern Shelf, 12 are in the Horshoe Atoll and eight are on the Northwest Shelf. Eleven fields have produced over one trillion cubic feet of gas, 61 have produced between 100 billion and one trillion cubic feet of gas and 170 have produced less than 100 billion cubic feet. Highlights of the study show 11% of the gas comes from reservoirs with temperatures over 300 degrees F. and 11% comes from depths between 19,000 and 20,000 feet. Twenty percent of the gas comes from reservoirs with pressures between 1000 and 2000 psi, 22% comes from reservoirs with 20-24% water saturation and 24% comes from reservoirs between 125 and 150 feet thick. Fifty-three reservoirs in the Ellenburger formation have produced 30% of the gas, 33% comes from 88 reservoirs in the Delaware basin and 33% comes from reservoirs with porosities of less than five percent. Forty percent is solution gas and 46% comes from combination traps. Over 50% of the production comes from reservoirs with five millidarcys or less permeability, and 60% of the gas comes from reservoirs in which dolomite is the dominant lithology. Over 50% of the gas production comes from fields discovered before 1957 although 50% of the producing fields were not discovered until 1958.

Nuclear explosions have been proposed as a means for recovering gas from underground gas-bearing rock formations. In present practice, the nuclear device is positioned at the end of a long pipe which is subsequently filled with grout or concrete. After the device is exploded, the grout is drilled through to provide a flow path for the released gas to the ground surface. As settled grout is brittle, often the compressive shock of the explosion fractures the grout and deforms the pipe so that it may not be removed nor reused. In addition, the pipe is sometimes pinched off completely and the gas flow is totally obstructed. (2 claims)

Nuclear explosions have been proposed as a means for recovering gas from underground gas-bearing rock formations. In present practice, the nuclear device is positioned at the end of a long pipe which is subsequently filled with grout or concrete. After the device is exploded, the grout is drilled through to provide a flow path for the released gas to the ground surface. As settled grout is brittle, often the compressive shock of the explosion fractures the grout and deforms the pipe so that it may not be removed nor reused. In addition, the pipe is sometimes pinched off completely and the gas flow is totally obstructed. (2 claims)

In one embodiment, an apparatus includes a first gas distribution assembly that includes a first gas passage for introducing a first process gas into a second gas passage that introduces the first process gas into a processing chamber and a second gas distribution assembly that includes a third gas passage for introducing a second process gas into a fourth gas passage that introduces the second process gas into the processing chamber. The first and second gas distribution assemblies are each adapted to be coupled to at least one chamber wall of the processing chamber. The first gas passage is shaped as a first ring positioned within the processing chamber above the second gas passage that is shaped as a second ring positioned within the processing chamber. The gas distribution assemblies may be designed to have complementary characteristic radial film growth rate profiles.